Trump reportedly refuses to speak about McCain while he's alive


President Trump will not issue any statement on Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) while he is alive, The Washington Post reported Saturday morning, citing White House officials.
McCain's family announced Friday he has discontinued medical treatment for his brain cancer, and many politicians from both sides of the aisle offered their prayers and well wishes when the senator's decision was announced.
McCain and Trump, however, have long had a contentious relationship. McCain reportedly told friends earlier this year he does not want the president at his funeral. He has slammed Trump's "naivete, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats," and withdrew his endorsement of Trump after the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump has said McCain is not a war hero because he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, expressing a preference for "people who weren't captured." He has accused McCain of spending "most of his time in the Senate pushing amnesty" and declined to apologize when a White House aide was caught saying McCain's opinion on the nomination of Gina Haspel for CIA director "doesn't matter" because "he's dying anyway."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county
-
Supreme Court lowers bar in discrimination cases
speed read The court ruled in favor of a white woman who claimed she lost two deserved promotions to gay employees
-
Trump-Musk relationship implodes in taunts, threats
speed read Musk said Trump's multitrillion bill would cause a recession and accused the president of involvement with Jeffrey Epstein