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Politicians pay tribute to McCain; Trump silent

Posted at 1:56 PM, Aug 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-24 13:56:33-04

WASHINGTON (AP) — American political leaders of both parties are paying tribute and offering prayers for ailing Arizona Sen. John McCain, but President Donald Trump has so far been silent.

Neither the White House nor the president has yet spoken out after McCain’s family announced Friday that the former prisoner of war and longtime public servantwould no longer seek medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are praising McCain and offering prayers for his family, as is Mitt Romney, the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee.

Trump has publicly clashed with McCain since the beginning of his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump declared in 2015 that McCain wasn’t a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam, and has been critical of McCain’s hawkish foreign policy views. At his rallies, Trump continues to bring up the lawmaker’s decisive 2017 no-vote on the GOP’s bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act.