Jimmy McCain, the youngest son of the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, slammed Donald Trump's recent appearance at Arlington National Cemetery as a campaign backdrop, even though his father did just that in a 1999 campaign ad.
John McCain was a decorated war veteran and former Vietnam POW whose father and grandfather, both Navy admirals, are buried at Arlington. When he was running for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, McCain ran a campaign ad, a copy of which is posted on X, that showed him walking through the cemetery.
According to an Associated Press report from Nov. 12, 1999, the Army said his campaign did not get permission to film at the cemetery and that any request to do so would have been denied because partisan activity is banned at Army installations. McCain acknowledged his campaign erred and sent a letter to the Army saying the scenes would be cut from the video.
Trump appeared at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 26 as part of a ceremony marking three years since 13 U.S. service members died in a suicide bombing during the Biden administration's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Families of the victims said they invited Trump, as well as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, to the ceremony. Biden and Harris did not attend.
A member of Trump's team was alleged to have pushed their way into Section 60 of the cemetery where photography and any political activity is restricted. Since then, Trump has been pilloried for using the sacred ground for political purposes after photos from the ceremony turned up in campaign ads. Trump has denied any confrontation took place, accusing Harris' presidential campaign in a Truth Social post of fabricating the story.
"It just blows me away," Jimmy McCain, a first lieutenant in the Arizona National Guard, told CNN. "These men and women that are laying in the ground there have no choice" of whether to be a backdrop for a political campaign.
"I just think that for anyone who's done a lot of time in their uniform, they just understand that inherently – that it's not about you there. It's about these people who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their country."
Trump and John McCain did not get along before the senator died in 2018, with Trump reportedly saying, "He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured," and "I was never a fan of John McCain, and I never will be."
Jimmy McCain told CNN that just weeks ago, he changed his voter registration to Democrat and plans to vote for Kamala Harris in November. Although other members of the McCain family have distanced themselves from Trump – including Jimmy McCain's mother, Cindy, who endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, and his sister Meghan – none except Jimmy have publicly abandoned the Republican Party.
Despite her harsh criticisms of Trump, Meghan McCain indicated Tuesday she would not endorse Harris, and will not vote for either her or Trump.
"I greatly respect the wide variety of political opinions of all of my family members and love them all very much," she wrote in a post on X. "I, however, remain a proud member of the Republican Party and hope for brighter days ahead. [Not voting for Harris or Trump, hope that clears things up]."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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