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| Contrasting images of flags: Flags at Washington Monument(background) lowered at half staff for McCain, while the flag at White House is at full staff on Monday. |
The animosity between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Republican critic-in-chief, Senator John McCain has continued even after McCain’s death on Saturday.
The Hill reports that flags at the White House, which were lowered at half staff on Saturday, after McCain’s death, returned to full staff on Monday, less than 48 hours after.
Several reporters who noted the symbolism change tweeted about it.
According to The Hill, President Trump had ordered the flags lowered on Saturday evening.
A number of reporters and commentators noted that in the past, flags remained lowered to honour lawmakers and major public figures until their funerals.
There was no official proclamation from President Trump (as he has done in the past for other notable figures passing)
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McCain died Saturday at age 81 following a year-long battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Even after his diagnosis, he remained one of Trump’s most outspoken Republican critics.
McCain reportedly did not want Trump to attend his funeral, instead requesting that former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush deliver eulogies.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump ridiculed McCain’s status as a war hero.
Trump continued to chide the senator after his cancer diagnosis, frequently noting at rallies and speaking engagements that McCain voted “no” to kill a GOP effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
The Hill also reported that Trump reportedly nixed a draft statement from the White House calling McCain a “hero” after the senator’s death. Trump instead issued a tweet offering his sympathies to McCain’s family.
A number of other administration officials issued their own statements via Twitter, including Vice President Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway and Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
McCain is scheduled to lie in the Arizona State Capitol on Wednesday and then the U.S. Capitol on Friday. He will be buried at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on Sunday.
~NAN
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