McCain's ice-cold revenge on Trump
Analysis
Senator doesn't mention President by name, but 'bone spur' remark adds fuel to a tempestuous relationship
John McCain keeps serving his revenge to Donald Trump ice cold
(CNN)In an interview with C-SPAN about the Vietnam War that ran over the weekend, Sen. John McCain said this:
"One
aspect of the conflict, by the way, that I will never, ever countenance
is that we drafted the lowest income level of America, and the highest
income level found a doctor that would say they had a bone spur. That is
wrong. That is wrong. If we are going to ask every American to serve,
every American should serve."
While
McCain didn't mention any names, anyone paying any sort of attention
knows that he is talking about President Donald Trump, who received five
deferments during the Vietnam War, including one for -- you guessed it!
-- bone spurs.
Trump,
despite being in generally good health at the time, received a
diagnosis of bone spurs, which gave him a draft status that kept him out
of the war. In an interview with The New York Times about the deferment,
Trump was unable to remember the name of the doctor who had diagnosed
him but noted: "I had a doctor that gave me a letter -- a very strong
letter on the heels." He added that the problem was "temporary" and
"minor." (Trump received four further education deferments.)
The "bone spur" shot is McCain's latest jab at Trump in a decidedly tempestuous relationship that dates back to at least 2015.
It
was in July of that year that Trump, appearing at a conservative
conclave in Iowa, said this of the Arizona Republican: "He's not a war
hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who
weren't captured."
McCain spent
almost six years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, where he was
tortured and beaten. He suffered injuries that don't allow him to raise
his arms above shoulder height.
Days later, asked whether he owed McCain an apology, Trump said,
"No, not at all." He added, "People that fought hard and weren't
captured and went through a lot, they get no credit. Nobody even talks
about them. They're, like, forgotten. And I think that's a shame, if you
want to know the truth."
Trump's
tone changed on McCain over the summer of 2017 when the Arizona senator,
shortly after being diagnosed with brain cancer, returned to Washington
to participate in the debate over repealing and replacing the
Affordable Care Act.
"So great that John McCain is coming back to vote," Trump tweeted. "Brave - American hero! Thank you John."
That praise was short-lived,
however, as McCain wound up casting the deciding vote against the
Trump-backed repeal and replace plan.
"John McCain never had any intention of voting for this Bill, which his Governor loves," Trump tweeted in the wake of that vote. "He campaigned on Repeal & Replace. Let Arizona down!"
He added,
"Democrats are laughingly saying that McCain had a 'moment of courage.'
Tell that to the people of Arizona who were deceived. 116% increase!"
In an interview with "60 Minutes" last month, McCain insisted his vote against the health care bill wasn't revenge against Trump for the comments about his war service.
"If
I took offense at everybody who has said something about me or
disparaged me or something like that -- life is too short," McCain said.
"You've got to move on. And on an issue of this importance to the
nation, for me to worry about a personal relationship, then I'm not
doing my job."
But McCain did note
in that same interview that Trump had never apologized for the "I like
people who weren't captured" line. And he made very clear that he
doesn't hold a ton of respect for the life Trump has lived. Here's the
key quote:
"He is in the
business of making money, and he has been successful both in television
as well as Miss America and others. I was raised in the concept and
belief that duty, honor, country is the lodestar for behavior that we
have to exhibit every single day." (Trump actually used to own the Miss
Universe Organization.)
Oomph.
McCain
can say what he wants about how his decisions regarding Trump are
entirely unaffected by what Trump has said about him or the differences
between the two paths the two men have taken in their lives. But it's
clear there's not love lost between the two men.
No comments:
Post a Comment