On Monday, President Donald Trump signed the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 at Fort Drum Army Base in New York and during his remarks he thanked a long list of people. But it is not who Trump mentioned, but rather who he deliberately did not that CNN anchor Jake Tapper took issue with.
The one person not thanked or even mentioned at all during Trump's lengthy remarks? John S. McCain.
The name of ailing Republican United States Senator McCain of Arizona, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the man that committee chose to designate the bill in honor of failed to make the President's speech.
In fact, despite the official title of the bill, Trump deliberately avoided saying the name of the 23 year—1958-1981—and highly decorated U.S. Navy combat veteran and former prisoner of war for whom the bill is named.
The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2019 (Congressional archive)
The President instead only referred to the bill as the "National Defense Authorization Act" or the NDAA. And people are calling Trump out for what they view as petty childish behavior targeting a 36 year—1982 to 2018—Republican Congressman all because McCain criticized Trump.
Even when the President tweeted about the event and bill later, he left out Mccain's name.
CNN's Jake Tapper took to the airwaves Monday night and after showing footage of "a laundry list of people" the President thanked, Tapper rebuked Trump's choice to go out of his way to not mention McCain even once.
Watch the video here:
"That was President Trump just a few minutes ago thanking a laundry list of people before officially signing the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act," Tapper stated. "One person who wasn't on that list of people that he thanked?"
Outspoken Trump critic and the namesake of the bill, Senator John McCain. You know, the decorated war hero, who was a prisoner of war, continues to serve as a United States senator, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The bill the president signed is called the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act. No mention of him by the president today."
"Today, McCain took the high road," Tapper shared, "and issued a statement saying, 'I'm humbled that my colleagues in Congress chose to designate this bill in my name. Serving as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and working on behalf of America's brave service members has been one of the greatest honors of my life'."
And since President Trump would not do it, let us here on THE LEAD congratulate Senator John McCain and his family and thank him for his service to the country."
After Tapper posted his thanks to Twitter, the Senator's daughter Meghan McCain thanked him for thinking of her father.
And John McCain's daughter nor Jake Tapper were alone in their reactions as shown in the following Twitter responses.
Some reacted to the President's refusal to acknowledge Senator McCain in any way during the signing ceremony for a bill named the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act.
While some compared the two men, Mccain and Trump.
And others took the opportunity to also thank Senator McCain for his 23 years of military service.
