Former President Donald Trump has never been shy about his disdain for the late Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. McCain's vote tanked Trump's efforts to destroy Obamacare. Trump said McCain shouldn't be considered a war hero because he "was captured" and imprisoned as a prisoner of war for years in Vietnam. Trump has since suggested that McCain is burning in Hell.
McCain was close friends with fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Though Graham was initially a vocal critic of Trump during the 2016 campaign, he went on to be one of his most loyal followers in Congress, frequently defending the former President amid scandals, two impeachments, and countless deranged tweets.
Graham's embrace of Trump after McCain's death put a rift between him and the McCain family—a rift that widened recently with an exchange between him and McCain's daughter, former The View cohost Meghan McCain.
Trump infamously wasn't invited to the funeral, but his eldest daughter and son-in-law—Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner—both attended. In her memoir, Bad Republican, Ms. McCain revealed that the pair actually showed up uninvited.
Graham publicly disputed this claim, saying:
"She was upset they were there — I understand that, and she has hard feelings but I know what happened and nobody showed up uninvited. I love Meghan McCain and I understand how stressful all this has been for her and those who attack her dad will never be forgiven by her."
This didn't sit well with McCain, who subsequently disavowed Graham on Twitter, asserting that he was no longer considered an honorary family member.
Lindsey Graham may consider himself a member of my family, but he is not and hasn\u2019t been for a very long time. He certainly doesn\u2019t speak for me or my life experiences. Full stop. The media should stop treating him like he is an expert on anything McCain related.— Meghan McCain (@Meghan McCain) 1635342236
Her comments generated a wealth of reactions online.
People seem to think that bc John McCain was an American hero, they can all be the authority on his life and legacy. People forget that he was foremost a father and a husband. He was a human being.https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1453356795653677062\u00a0\u2026— Daniella Greenbaum Davis (@Daniella Greenbaum Davis) 1635343628
I don\u2019t agree with Meghan much these days, but stand with her on this.https://twitter.com/meghanmccain/status/1453356795653677062\u00a0\u2026— Erich McElroy (@Erich McElroy) 1635373034
Yup, Graham is nothing but a Trump worshipping hackhttps://twitter.com/meghanmccain/status/1453356795653677062\u00a0\u2026— \ud83e\udd8bTyphoon2000\ud83e\udd8b (@\ud83e\udd8bTyphoon2000\ud83e\udd8b) 1635379389
He thinks he speaks for you because you and him both suck and well birds of a feather. You both deserve each other. Republicans are just bad news anyway you slice it.https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1453356795653677062\u00a0\u2026— Cliff W (@Cliff W) 1635350524
It was reprehensible how that coward Lindsey Graham turned on your father to please that POS Trump. Your father was a noble and brave man and you do him proud Meghan https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1453356795653677062\u00a0\u2026— Perry's Perspective\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2 (@Perry's Perspective\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2) 1635388322
Graham is to John McCain as a remora is to a shark. He latched on in hopes of picking up some benefit by association. Same thing he did with Trump. Same thing he does with anyone to get near power.https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1453356795653677062\u00a0\u2026— Kyle Garner (@Kyle Garner) 1635343494
Some speculated conservatives were "eating their own."
The family is publicly eating their own https://twitter.com/meghanmccain/status/1453356795653677062\u00a0\u2026— The Honorable Grandma \ud83c\udf77 (@The Honorable Grandma \ud83c\udf77) 1635356656
@LindseyGrahamSC gets burned by all his \u201cfriends\u201d - Senate Dems, the media, and the McCains so what does he do? Burns the conservatives who keep him in office. Maybe he will finally learn (not holding my breath).https://twitter.com/meghanmccain/status/1453356795653677062\u00a0\u2026— Rob Casapulla (@Rob Casapulla) 1635347237
Eating their own. And they talk about friction in the Democrat agendahttps://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain/status/1453356795653677062\u00a0\u2026— Meidas Rick\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Meidas Rick\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1635345306
Graham has yet to address the comments.
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