image source: nydailynews.com

Donald Trump Signs McCain Defense Measure

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Donald Trump thanked members of the Congress who helped pass the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act with the signing ceremony taking place at Fort Drum, New York on Monday. However, Trump failed to thank the senator for whom the bill is named.

“We would not be here for today’s signing ceremony without the dedicated efforts without the dedicated members of Congress who worked so hard to pass the National Defense Authorization Act,” Trump said. He name-checked the members of the Congress such as Republican Elise Stefanik, who held a brief speech as a district representative whereas Trump also mentioned Martha McSally, Dan Donovan, Don Bacon and Joe Wilson.

Although Trump himself never served in the military, he had the courage to attack McCain and his service. The US President pointed out that McCain, who fought in Vietnam, wasn’t a war hero, because he was captured and became the prisoner of war.

“He is not a war hero,” Trump told pollster Frank Luntz, who was hosting a July 2015 question-and-answer session at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa. Luntz said: “He is a war hero” and then Trump cut him off:

“He is a war hero because he was captured? I like people that weren’t captured, OK? I hate to tell you. He is a war hero because he was captured. OK, you can have — I believe perhaps he is a war hero.”

Later on, Trump has acknowledged McCain as a war hero, but he never apologized in his interviews. Meanwhile, McCain has been one of the most outspoken Republican critics. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare brain cancer over a year ago is still the victim of Trump’s attacks and insults. The US President has referenced the Arizona senator over the past few months for his health care vote, but without directly naming him.

Trump couldn’t sustain from criticizing, and just hours after the signing ceremony, Trump continued with the attacks at a campaign event for Rep. Claudia Tenney in Utica, New York. “One of our wonderful senators said ‘thumbs down’ at two o’clock in the morning,” he said.

McCain’s daughter, conservative commentator Meghan McCain said that Trump comments were “gross and pathetic.”

image source: people.com

The irony is that John McCain, who is the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman led the efforts to pass the defense spending bill in the Senate. “I am particularly humbled that my colleagues chose to designate legislation of such importance in my name. Serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee has been an incredibly meaningful experience since my first days on Capitol Hill,” McCain said in a press release when the bill was passed earlier this month.

The formal name of the bill is “John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019,” and it is listed on the White House daily guidance with this name, but Trump took the liberty to call it “National Defense Authorization Act” at Fort Drum.

On Monday, Trump called the measure “the most significant investment in our military in our war fighters in modern history,” saying he was “very proud to be a big, big part of it.”

Trump also touted the $716 billion in the forthcoming 2019 fiscal year military funding, and he talked about the economic success of his administration as well the United States as leaders in space. Even though Trump has obviously disrespected McCain multiple times and failing to acknowledge his name at Fort Drum, at the end of the day, it is most important that the bill is passed. Mc Cain must be proud of what he managed to do!

As one of the founders of foreignspolicyi.org Knjaz Milos tries to bring all the latest news regarding politics. He loves history and is passionate about writing.
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