WASHINGTON (AP) — True to his reputation for “straight talk,” John McCain encourages Americans not to “despair of our present difficulties” in a farewell letter that takes veiled shots at President Donald Trump.
In his final message, read aloud in Arizona, the late senator says the United States is weakened “when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries” and “when we hide behind walls rather than tear them down.” Trump has made building a wall on the southern border one of his signature issues.
Trump feuded with McCain and has refused to talk about him since his death on Saturday.
The president tweeted his condolences to McCain’s family but made no reference to the Arizona senator. Flags at the White House were lowered to half-staff for McCain on Sunday but are now flying at full-staff.
