International leaders, political opponents, prominent businessmen, friends, and family have all shared warm tributes to John McCain, who died on Saturday at the age of 81.
The leaders of Canada and France shared their sentiments on Saturday.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called McCain “an American patriot and hero.” French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the senator for devoting “his entire life to his country.”
Former President Barack Obama, who ran against McCain in 2007, alluded to the senator’s time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam in his tribute. He said: “Few of us have been tested the way John once was…but all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own.”
“John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order,” former President George W. Bush, who ran against McCain in the 2000 Republican presidential primary, said in a statement.
Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska who ran alongside the senator as his vice presidential pick in 2007, said she’d “remember the good times,” sharing a photo of them campaigning together.
The Clintons both tweeted their condolences as well. Former President Bill Clinton said McCain “believed that every citizen has a responsibility to make something of the freedoms given by our Constitution.” Hillary Clinton, who served with McCain in the Senate, said: “There will simply never be another like him.”
President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences in lieu of a formal White House statement. Many were quick to point out the President’s often callous remarks about the ailing senator. As recently as last Tuesday, Trump took aim at McCain at a political rally in West Virginia.
Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates called McCain’s death a “loss for our country.”
McCain’s family members shared their thoughts as well. McCain’s wife, Cindy, said she was “lucky to have lived the adventure of loving this incredible man for 38 years.” Daughter Meghan said: “All that I am is thanks to him.”
The U.S. Naval Air Forces shared a photo of the senator from his days serving with the military branch during the Vietnam War. “A man who served his country up until his last days…a true patriot and American hero,” the caption said.
“Senator John Sidney McCain III died at 4:28 p.m. on August 25, 2018,” McCain’s office said in a statement Saturday. “With the Senator when he passed were his wife Cindy and their family. At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years.”
He had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, following a procedure to remove a blood clot in July 2017.
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