Donald Trump Ignores John McCain Questions as White House Flag Returns to Full-Staff
The White House‘s flags have returned to full-staff less than two days after Sen. John McCain‘s death — a move that some are considering another snub by President Donald Trump towards the late war hero and longtime politician.
Sen. McCain died of brain cancer at the age of 81 on Saturday. The White House lowered its flags to half-staff on Saturday night and had raised them to full-staff by Monday morning, according to The Washington Post. Senate leaders have requested that American flags at government buildings remain at half-staff to honor McCain.
According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, “the flag is to be flown at half-staff … on the day and day after the death of a United States senator, representative,” or other leaders. However, in order to keep the White House flags at half-staff in honor of Sen. McCain longer, Trump would need to issue a proclamation, which he has not done. (The White House did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.)
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Trump’s lack of action breaks with precedent. When Sen. Ted Kennedy died in 2009 and Sen. Daniel Inouye died in 2012, former President Barack Obama asked in both cases that flags remain at half-staff “until sunset on the day of his interment,” which has not yet arrived for Sen. McCain, NBC News noted.
RELATED VIDEO: Senator John McCain Dies at Age 81
Some federal buildings in Washington kept their flags at half-staff on Monday morning, while others — including flags at the Washington Monument, which stands behind the White House — were raised, The Washington Post reported.
During a press event in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump ignored direct questions pertaining to McCain’s passing and legacy. Instead, he folded his arms in silence.
ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl, who was at the press event, said in a tweet that Trump heard his question about McCain but “did not answer.”
In the Oval Office just now I asked @realDonaldTrump if he had any thoughts on the legacy on John McCain. He heard me but did not answer. pic.twitter.com/reVwoJCMzV
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) August 27, 2018
Trump and Sen. McCain had a widely documented rocky history. In 2015, Trump criticized Sen. McCain’s military service. “He’s not a war hero,” Trump said, referring to the five and a half years Sen. McCain spent fighting for his life as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
Last year, Sen. McCain voted no on Republicans’ efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and this year, Trump seemed to avoid talk of Sen. McCain’s terminal health.
McCain’s funeral plans reportedly call for Obama and former President George W. Bush, both former political competitors of Sen. McCain, to deliver eulogies, and for Vice President Mike Pence to attend instead of Trump, The New York Times reported.
