The youngest son of the late Senator John McCain has announced he will vote for Kamala Harris as he rebukes Donald Trump over the incident at Arlington National Cemetery.
Jimmy McCain is just the latest in a long line of McCains to serve in the military. His grandfather and great-grandfather—both Navy admirals—are both buried at Arlington.
McCain, 36, slammed Trump, whose visit to the cemetery on the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate terrorist attack is still having repercussions following a report of a physical altercation with a Trump campaign staffer there.
“The people buried there have no opinion,” he told CNN on Tuesday.
“The point of Arlington Cemetery is to show respect for the men and women who gave their lives to this country. If you make it political, you take away the respect from the people who are there.
“I understand he was invited. Show respect and leave. It doesn’t have to be filmed,” he said.
Jimmy McCain (with mother Cindy and sister Meghan McCain) criticized Donald Trump’s campaign behavior at Arlington Cemetery and called for ‘show respect and leave’
“I’m absolutely devastated,” McCain told the network. “These men and women who are lying there in the ground, they have no choice” about whether they want to be a backdrop for a political campaign, he said.
“I just think anyone who’s spent a lot of time in uniform understands inherently that it’s not about you. It’s about these people who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their country,” said McCain, an Army intelligence officer who served in the military for 17 years.
McCain recently changed his party registration from independent to Democratic. He has previously stayed out of politics and cast his decision in personal terms.
“I think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represent a group of people who are going to make this country better, who are going to move us forward. And that’s ultimately what really matters: voting with your heart, voting how you feel about the future, and that’s how I feel.”
His mother, Cindy McCain, supported Joe Biden in 2020, despite the fact that his father had long-standing ties to the Republican Party and was the party’s presidential nominee in 2008.
Trump visited the cemetery on the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack that killed 13 Americans. His campaign said he was invited to be there by families. His campaign later posted a video of his time at the cemetery
Trump criticized McCain’s famously ridiculed POW status, saying, ‘I like people who aren’t captured’
Trump’s cemetery visit still playing out, a week after it happened
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His appearance on the network came on a day when Trump revived the controversy surrounding Arlington Cemetery in a message in which he denied reports that a campaign staffer had argued with a cemetery official over rules prohibiting political use of the site.
“There was no conflict or ‘fight’ at Arlington National Cemetery last week. It was a fabricated story by Comrade Kamala and her disinformation team,” Trump posted on his Truth Social site a week after the incident was reported.
Trump blamed Vice President Kamala Harris, saying there were “no fights.”
“She made it all up to make up for the fact that she and Sleepy Joe have BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS for the INCOMPETENT AFGHANISTAN withdrawal – MOST EMBARRASSING DAY IN US HISTORY!!!” Trump posted, saying it “couldn’t have been a better time – and there were no fights or problems, only in the minds of those who are destroying our country!”
An Army spokesman said in an official statement after the incident that “Participants in the August 26 ceremony and subsequent Section 60 visit were aware of federal law, Army regulations, and DoD policy that clearly prohibit political activity at cemeteries. An ANC staff member who attempted to enforce these rules was abruptly pushed aside.”
During the television interview, host Jake Tapper told McCain that his father had once aired a campaign ad featuring a video of himself touring the cemetery, but he had immediately removed the ad and apologized.
Trump had a strained relationship with McCain, and in 2015 joked about his POW status making him a national hero, saying, “I like people who weren’t captured.”
The younger McCain’s statement about Trump comes as Harris’ campaign is trying to win over a group of Republicans who could potentially switch to Trump, including some who could speak at the Democratic National Convention.
Former Republican Sen. Pat Toomey told CNBC on Tuesday that he will not vote for Trump or Harris, citing January 6 as a reason why he will not support the Republican.