There is no close relationship between Donald Trump and the family of the late Republican John McCain. Now McCain’s son Jimmy is speaking out in the election campaign.
Jimmy McCain, the son of Republican Senator John McCain, who died in 2018, wants to support the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the election campaign. He has also broken away from the Republicans and registered as a supporter of the Democrats, Jimmy McCain said in an interview with the US broadcaster CNN.
The McCain offspring sharply criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and was particularly vocal about his visit to Arlington National Cemetery.
Last week, Trump laid a wreath at the cemetery near the US capital Washington to commemorate the US soldiers killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan three years ago. Afterwards, there were reports of an altercation between Trump’s team and a cemetery employee. According to the US military, an employee was “abruptly pushed aside” when she tried to enforce the rules in place at the cemetery. Trump was accused of abusing the cemetery visit for election campaign purposes.
“I think anyone who has worn a uniform for a long time understands that (in Arlington) it’s not about you. It’s about these people who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their country,” McCain told CNN. The 36-year-old himself served in the US military for many years. The soldiers buried in the national cemetery cannot decide for themselves whether they want to serve as a backdrop for an election campaign.
John McCain was one of Trump’s leading critics within the party. The rift between Trump and McCain was deep and went beyond the senator’s death. President Trump at the time was not invited to the funeral.
In 2020, John McCain’s widow spoke at the Democratic National Convention and supported the current Democratic US President Joe Biden. According to CNN, however, no one from McCain’s immediate family has officially turned their back on the Republican Party.
McCain’s daughter Meghan wrote on Platform X: “I have great respect for the diversity of political opinions of all my family members and love them all very much.” However, she remains a proud member of the Republican Party and will not vote for Harris or Trump in the presidential election on November 5.
