Image rights
EPA
Image description
President Trump has said he is “never a fan” of fellow Republican countryman John McCain
Donald Trump has launched a new attack on John McCain after his widow announced her support for the president’s Democratic rival Joe Biden.
Mr Trump tweeted that he was “never a fan” of the veteran Republican senator, who died in 2018.
He also accused Mr. Biden of being Mr. McCain’s “lap dog” and denounced “bad decisions about endless wars”.
Prior to his death in 2018, Mr. McCain was one of the president’s outspoken Republican critics.
Mr Trump, in turn, publicly questioned his heroism during the Vietnam War.
Cindy McCain tweeted her support for Mr Biden on Tuesday, saying he was the only candidate “who stands up for our values as a nation”.
“Joe and I don’t always agree, and I know he and John certainly had some passionate arguments, but he’s a good and honest man,” said Ms. McCain.
In response, President Trump said she could “have Sleepy Joe!” – a nickname the president has for his rival.
“I hardly know Cindy McCain,” he added, “except that I called her to a committee at her husband’s request.”
Skip @realDonaldTrump’s Twitter post
I don’t know Cindy McCain any other way than having her husband called her to a committee. Joe Biden was John McCain’s lap dog. So many BAD decisions about Endless Wars & the VA that I brought to HIGH APPROVAL from a horror show. Never a fan of John. Cindy can have Sleepy Joe!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2020
End of @realDonaldTrump’s Twitter post
Cindy McCain addressed the Democratic National Convention last month, and her approval could prove to be an obstacle for President Trump, who lags behind Mr Biden in most national polls.
Mr. Biden has since thanked her and said on Twitter that it is “a great honor to have your support and friendship”.
Mr. McCain was a 2008 Republican Party presidential candidate and senator for Arizona, a major battlefield state, in the November election.
Image rights
Reuters
Image description
John McCain (left) had frequent clashes with Mr Trump before and during his presidency
He and Mr. Trump had a fragile relationship. In 2015, Mr Trump questioned his heroism because he was captured during the Vietnam War.
“He’s a war hero because he was captured,” he said. “I like people who haven’t been captured.”
The president has also complained that he received “no thank you” for authorizing Mr. McCain’s state funeral.
