Senator John McCain, 81, reportedly helped plan his own funeral and told several of his friends and colleagues that he did not want President Trump to attend his funeral service, CNN reported.
Senator McCain died Saturday afternoon at his home in Sedona, Ariz., surrounded by his wife and family.
McCain won the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama. He carved out a reputation as a leading internationalist who warned that Russia posed a threat to the post-Cold War order.
McCain was one of the Senate’s most ardent military hawks and one of the few who was willing to challenge Trump, regardless of party politics. He called President Trump “poorly informed” and “impulsive.” In response, Trump seized many opportunities to criticize McCain for voting against a repeal of the Affordable Care Act and said he liked “people who weren’t captured” in reference to McCain being a POW.
Reflecting on his life in his memoirs Mr. McCain wrote: “I don’t have a complaint. Not one. It’s been quite a ride. I’ve known great passions, seen amazing wonders, fought in a war, and helped make a peace. I made a small place for myself in the story of America and the history of my times.”
McCain also requested that former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush deliver eulogies at his funeral. Both Bush and Obama confirmed that they will honor his request.
Meanwhile, Obama and his wife issued a joint statement honoring McCain’s life.
“Few of us have been tested the way John once was or required to show the kind of courage that he did. But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own,” Obama wrote.
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