On Wednesday, May 29, The Wall Street Journal published a report which claimed that during President Donald Trump's trip to Japan over the previous weekend, the warship U.S.S. John McCain had taken pains to hide any mention of its name for fear of inciting the rage of the President (who had a longstanding feud with Senator John McCain before his death).
Many notable figures, including Meghan McCain, the late Senator's daughter, have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment in the President and his team.
On Twitter, Meghan McCain wrote:
"Trump is a child who will always be deeply threatened by the greatness of my dads incredible life. There is a lot of criticism of how much I speak about my dad, but nine months since he passed, Trump won't let him RIP. So I have to stand up for him. It makes my grief unbearable."
According to the WSJ piece, extensive pains were taken to ensure Trump didn't even have to catch a glimpse of John McCain's name.
Trump himself responded to the reports not by denouncing or denying what had happened, but by simply saying he was unaware of them.
Many felt the President had a pretty severe misunderstanding of what made them uncomfortable.
Other Twitter users pointed out the ship wasn't even originally named after Senator McCain, but his grandfather and father.
Under President Trump, the McCains, generally regarded as heroes of our military, were honored by having their names hidden from view.
The Navy, in the meantime, has pushed back against the Wall Street Journal's claims, saying its leadership was unaware of these actions.
Whether or not Trump was aware of the actions of those around him ultimately doesn't matter.
If our President inspires a culture of fear and hatred even towards our country's heroes of war then something needs to change.
@SecretaryBurgum/X
@Doug Ellin/X
@evanrachelwood/Instagram