No one will soon forget Donald Trump’s refusal (that eventually turned into begrudging cooperation) to order that flags be lowered to half-mast in honor of the late John McCain’s death, after a long, hard battle with brain cancer — all because McCain managed to piss in Donald’s Cheerios in whatever variety of stupid ways Trump could cook up.
But as it turns out, it wasn’t the public backlash (which was plentiful at the time) that ultimately served to convince Trump to change his mind and finally order the flags lowered after he kept them at full mast following the news of McCain’s death as nothing more than a public “fuck you” to the guy that pissed him off. Instead, it apparently came down to a very clear, dire warning from Trump’s own then-chief of staff about what was going to happen if he didn’t make things right, that ultimately served as the catalyst to spur the then-president’s begrudging “change of heart.”
A new book is set to soon hit the shelves from journalists Susan Glasser and Peter Baker, in which they reveal that Trump’s then-Chief of Staff John Kelly told the president at the time of McCain’s passing, “If you don’t support John McCain’s funeral, when you die, the public will come to your grave and piss on it.”
It is, of course, customary in the United States for presidents to release a proclamation that all flags be lowered to half-staff upon the death of US officials and prominent figures, until such a time when the deceased has been buried. According to multiple reports, while Trump expressed his so-called sympathies for John McCain’s death in a tweet, he did not issue the proclamation of the senator’s death that would call for flags to be lowered to half-mast.
Flag back at full staff atop WH. Pres Trump did not issue proclamation on the death of @SenJohnMcCain, which usually calls for flags to remain at half-staff through the day of interment, which is Sunday at the @NavalAcademy. pic.twitter.com/NGasNPT0VB
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) August 27, 2018
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According to an Axios report on the matter, this move (or lack thereof) on Trump’s part, left his then-Chief of Staff John Kelly absolutely infuriated.
Donald Trump’s ongoing feud with McCain, even since the senator’s death, has been a notorious one, to say the very least, with Trump taking numerous jabs over the years at McCain’s military service. During his 2016 campaign days, Trump made a now infamous hit against McCain, declaring, “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”
Immediately following McCain’s death, Trump reportedly rejected a statement penned by his aides that praised the late congressman and military veteran. Politicians, military officials, and journalists from all sides of the fence published tributes to the late war hero, and notable names and officials from both sides of the political aisle openly criticized then-President Trump for the full mast flag snub, including the likes of Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer.
Eventually, Trump finally succumb to the pressure, between the public and his own chief of staff, and ordered the flags lowered to half-mast.
“Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain’s service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment,” Trump said in his statement that came too little, too late.
Read a full report on the revelation from Business Insider here.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
