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Trump Tried to Commemorate National Former Prisoner of War Day and Meghan McCain Made Him Instantly Regret It
09 April 2020
Walter McBride/Getty Images // Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Donald Trump's hatred of the late Republican Senator from Arizona, John McCain, was widely known even before McCain cast the decisive vote that saved the Affordable Care Act in 2017.
That hatred has only worsened since that vote, with Trump initially refusing to lower flags at half staff to honor him and even implying that McCain is in Hell.
<p>But before all that, Trump shocked Americans across the country during the 2016 campaign when he insinuated that McCain wasn't a war hero because he was captured and spent years being tortured as a prisoner of war in the Hỏa Lò Prison in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Trump was avoiding the draft multiple times.</p><p><strong>Watch the 2015 comments below.</strong><br></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">“He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured." - Donald Trump on former POW John McCain<a href="https://t.co/2xA1eBBHok">pic.twitter.com/2xA1eBBHok</a><br>— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) <a href="https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1248290890654892039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2020</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p><strong>Trump decried McCain, saying:</strong><br></p><blockquote><em>"He's not a war hero...He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured, I hate to tell you."<br></em></blockquote><p>Trump made <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-on-john-mccain-in-1999-does-being-captured-make-you-a-hero/2018/08/07/a2849b1c-9a56-11e8-8d5e-c6c594024954_story.html" target="_blank">similar claims</a> in the 1990s.</p><p><strong>So it may not come as a surprise that this tweet from Donald Trump honoring prisoners of war rang hollow.</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="5b392" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0a116c003334d781220021269e49c150"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248277475928530946" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">On National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, we honor the more than 500,000 American warriors captured while… https://t.co/tTpsFGzREf</div> — Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/statuses/1248277475928530946">1586447516.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>Senator McCain's eldest daughter, Meghan McCain, made sure Trump's tweet didn't slip under the radar.</p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p><strong>She defended her father by tweeting Trump's original thoughts on war heroes right back to him.</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="e1256" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="966dbb3300c85d44cc7fcb9ab71a2389"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248294268864729090" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">“John McCain is not a 'war hero.' He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured, let… https://t.co/9EZtb2rK2m</div> — Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain)<a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/statuses/1248294268864729090">1586451520.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>McCain frequently mentions her close relationship with her father and constantly honors his memory, and she's never minced words regarding how she feels about Trump's pettiness towards his legacy.</p><p>She famously directed portions of her eulogy for the Senator at Trump, saying that—because of people like her father—America was already great and didn't need to be made great again.</p><p><strong>Meghan McCain was right: People hadn't forgotten how Trump honors prisoners of war.</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="632df" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="558922d154d61fb22125e5ef519d81b8"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248287461370814464" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We know Trump didn't write this. It's grammatically correct, uses correct spelling, and doesn't insult John McCain. https://t.co/WFPQPBAKLy</div> — Janice Hough (@Janice Hough)<a href="https://twitter.com/leftcoastbabe/statuses/1248287461370814464">1586449897.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="77253" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="98cac5c3c8918f619e79da4b75476844"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248295557510189058" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Unless of course your name is John McCain. @realDonaldTrump doesn't recognize John McCain. How say you to that… https://t.co/ulKHIanYjl</div> — Brian J. Karem (@Brian J. Karem)<a href="https://twitter.com/BrianKarem/statuses/1248295557510189058">1586451827.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="82ddd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2b708623e7ddfb2c26923c9c0991e935"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248291868816945153" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I thought he only likes soldiers who don’t get captured. https://t.co/sFEExraMWV</div> — *you're (@*you're)<a href="https://twitter.com/RKJ65/statuses/1248291868816945153">1586450948.0</a></blockquote></div>
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</p><div id="2adf4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ee4e2c512f942d83ddc85fea2242915b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248282813054492674" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I like presidents who don't mock POWs https://t.co/y3zy1up96r</div> — Isolated Snowflake (@Isolated Snowflake)<a href="https://twitter.com/SilencedSnowfl1/statuses/1248282813054492674">1586448789.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><strong>People used the tweet as a chance to honor McCain.</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="5f4f1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1d38f1f51226fcb573df83b082f97ab3"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248310562842386433" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Yes, John McCain is a true Patriot.
Thank you Donald Trump for recognizing what a great American John McCain truly… https://t.co/dZSkXFRt5Z</div> — ReaganRepublican (@ReaganRepublican)<a href="https://twitter.com/NeverDotard/statuses/1248310562842386433">1586455405.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="484fe" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8e7129b11ab6dcbd976d41113c136af5"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248314256539488257" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I honor and pay tribute to John McCain. https://t.co/IWohemGiIj</div> — Travis Akers (@Travis Akers)<a href="https://twitter.com/travisakers/statuses/1248314256539488257">1586456285.0</a></blockquote></div>
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</p><div id="ea936" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d417f5769f0791ceb8e23f13c74c8c7f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248321938335969280" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">John McCain had an option, after months as a POW, for early release. He wouldn't take preferential treatment; he kn… https://t.co/oqxlm50HIB</div> — Kara Calavera (@Kara Calavera)<a href="https://twitter.com/KaraCalavera/statuses/1248321938335969280">1586458117.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>Somehow, we don't believe Trump's tribute is genuine.</p><p>For a deeper look into Trump's character from those who know it firsthand, check out <em>A Very Stable Genius</em>, <a href="https://amzn.to/2VjEU2c" target="_blank">available here</a>.</p>
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