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Good Trump: President Lends Air Force Two to McCain Family to Bring Body of Senator to D.C.

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While President Trump was bad-mouthed left and right over the course of Sen. John McCain’s five-day funeral and remembrance ceremonies, he actually did the former senator and war hero a solid.

McCain’s body was flown to Washington, D.C., on an aircraft that was approved by Trump. “The late Arizona senator’s casket was loaded onto one of the jets known as Air Force 2 — which is often designated for the VP or First Lady’s travel,” TMZ reported. . .

“The 89th Airlift Wing, based out of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, is responsible for the aircraft as well as Air Force One. McCain’s body will be flown to the base, according to a representative of the airlift wing,” Arizona Central reported.

“This specific plane has carried the body of a significant figure at least once before, according to the Air Force. In 2001, this plane transported the body of United States Marine and Central Intelligence Agency Operations Officer Johnny Michael Spann. He was the first American killed in combat during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.” . . .

But Meghan McCain didn’t appear to appreciate Trump’s benevolence. At a Saturday memorial service for her father at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., the daughter of the late Arizona Republican took to the podium and ripped Trump. (Read more from “Good Trump: President Lends Air Force Two to McCain Family to Bring Body of Senator to D.C.” HERE)

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Hmm: Meghan McCain for Senate?

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Over the coming days, Americans will continue to pay tribute to the late Sen. John McCain, who died on Saturday after a protracted battle with cancer. McCain, a decorated and extraordinary war hero and the Republican Party’s 2008 presidential nominee, was 81 years old. (I commented briefly on McCain’s life and legacy in Friday’s week-in-review post, published shortly after his family revealed that the Senator had chosen to cease medical treatment). Under Arizona law, Gov. Doug Ducey will appoint McCain’s replacement, who will serve until the next qualifying general election — in this case, 2020. Ducey, quite rightly, has declined to publicly discuss his decision at this time out of respect, telling the Arizona Republic that the issue is effectively tabled until Sen. McCain is laid to rest:

Gov. Doug Ducey will wait to name a successor to John McCain until after the late senator has been buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Maryland, an aide to the governor told The Arizona Republic on Saturday. “Out of respect for the life and legacy of Senator John McCain and his family, Governor Ducey will not be making any announcements about an appointment until after the Senator is laid to rest,” Ducey’s senior adviser Daniel Ruiz II said in a statement. “Now is a time for remembering and honoring a consequential life well lived.”

. . .

From the Republican Party’s perspective, it would probably be most helpful for Ducey to select an up-and-coming figure within the GOP ranks, thus helping that person build and burnish his or her credentials in advance of a 2020 run in an increasingly competitive state. It’s also possible that Ducey could view this role as that of a place-holder or caretaker, in which case, former Sen. Kyl would be a sensible and sterling pick. Kyl, by the way, is currently acting as Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate ‘sherpa.’ By going this direction, Ducey would avoid putting his thumb on the scale in advance of an eventual 2020 primary, a show of favoritism that could potentially alienate certain factions within the party in the lead-up to the governor’s own active re-election push. As for the rumors that Mrs. McCain is in the mix — and a Senate wife getting appointed to fill a seat is hardly groundbreaking — I shared this thought on Twitter yesterday:

Many people reacted negatively to this idea, citing concerns about dynastic politics. As noted above, I share those concerns. My point is that if the governor decides that he’s inclined to appoint a McCain to fill this seat until the next general election, my preference would be Meghan. (She meets the Senate age threshold, but I’m not sure if she meets any applicable Arizona residency requirements). This is not a criticism of Cindy whatsoever; I just do not know much about her ideology. Meghan, by contrast, has really found her voice as a conservative media commentator, exhibiting fearlessness and tenacity on the set of a show that is often politically hostile to her worldview. She, like her father, is a Trump skeptic in some respects — but she frequently stuck up for the president on Fox, and has done so at The View, as well, much to the chagrin or Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, and most of the live audience. (Read more from “Hmm: Meghan McCain for Senate?” HERE)

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McCain’s Final Statement Revealed

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The late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has a final message for America. His former aide and friend Rick Davis read those final words for the nation on Monday.

The late senator and military hero wrote that he “lived and died a proud American,” before explaining why.

[McCain’s statement:]

“My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans,

“Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

“I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.

(Read more from “McCain’s Final Statement Revealed” HERE)

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Sen. John McCain Has Died

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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who was diagnosed with brain cancer in July of 2017, has died. It’s the same form that took the life of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in 2009. Cortney wrote on Friday that Mr. McCain would be suspending medical treatment. For the past year, the Arizona Republican has been fighting the disease, which has kept him from Washington D.C. Sen. McCain cast the deciding vote in the GOP’s failed attempt at the so-called skinny repeal of Obamacare. The measure went down 49-51. He has remained in Arizona for medical treatment since the end of 2017. Senator McCain was 81 years old, passing away nine years to the day of his colleague Sen. Kennedy, according to Jonathan Martin of The New York Times.

Mr. McCain ran for president in 2000 and 2008, becoming the Republican Party’s nominee in the latter contest, though was ultimately not successful. He served with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, being shot down over North Vietnam in 1967, where he remained in captivity for nearly six years. He was released in 1973.

McCain succeeded Sen. Barry Goldwater, “Mr. Conservative,” in 1987 after the latter decided to retire.

(Read more from “Sen. John McCain Has Died” HERE)

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John McCain’s Family Announces He’s Ending Medical Treatment

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Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) family announced Friday that the senator is discontinuing medical treatment for his aggressive form of brain cancer. His daughter Meghan shared the news on Twitter.

McCain’s colleagues and friends – both Republican and Democrat – have begun to send their thoughts and prayers to him and his family.

(Read more from “John McCain’s Family Announces He’s Ending Medical Treatment” HERE)

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Lois Lerner Case Explodes: McCain’s Campaign Supposedly Involved in a Nasty Way

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. . .One of a number of scandals that plagued President Barack Obama and his administration involved the IRS targeting tea party groups after 2010. It seemed that their tax-exempt status requests were denied or delayed due to intense political partisanship in the agency.

In May 2013, The Washington Post reported that the IRS’s exempt-organizations division director Lois Lerner “let slip” the week prior “that low-level IRS staffers had focused extra scrutiny on conservative groups with words such as ‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ in their names.” . . .

When President Donald Trump was sworn into office, some held out hope that the perceived injustices from Obama’s tenure would somehow be made right. However, in September 2017, Trump’s administration had already preemptively declined to pursue criminal charges against Lerner “based on the available evidence,” according to Fox News.

But more has since been uncovered about the scandal. Government watchdog group Judicial Watch has obtained and released “internal IRS documents, including material revealing that Sen. John McCain’s former staff director and chief counsel on the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee, Henry Kerner, urged top IRS officials, including then-director of exempt organizations Lois Lerner, to “audit so many that it becomes financially ruinous.”

Meeting notes from April 30, 2013, involving Kerner, Lerner, “and other high-ranking IRS officials” were obtained by JW. With the meeting taking place only 10 days before the IRS scandal exploded into the public view, they are particularly incriminating against Kerner and Lerner. (Read more from “Lois Lerner Case Explodes: McCain’s Supposedly Involved in a Nasty Way” HERE)

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Trump ‘Appropriately’ Snubs John Mccain During Bill Signing Intended to Honor Him

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. . .In extended remarks during a visit to Fort Drum in upstate New York to sign the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 — this year’s version of an annual bill that sets defense policy — Trump chose not to mention the former prisoner of war and Senate Armed Services Committee chairman who is battling brain cancer. He even omitted McCain’s name when citing the title of the bill.

The two men have long been fierce critics of each other, with McCain calling Trump’s supporters “crazies” in 2015 and Trump retaliating by questioning whether McCain, who was subjected to torture in a Vietnamese prison camp, is really a “war hero” because “he was captured.”

The snub at Fort Drum, home to the combat aviation brigade of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, did not escape the notice of McCain’s allies.

“For those asking did I expect Trump to be an a—— today. No more than I expected it to be Monday,” Mark Salter, McCain’s longtime aide, wrote on Twitter.

McCain’s condition — dire enough that a recent HBO documentary on him was titled “John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls” — has not stopped Trump from deriding the Arizona senator at political rallies. Though Trump does not use his name, he tells crowds that he would have been able to repeal Obamacare if not for a thumbs-down sign from one senator — McCain. (Read more from “Trump ‘Appropriately’ Snubs John Mccain During Bill Signing Intended to Honor Him” HERE)

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McCain Staffer Had Nasty Plan for Tea Parties

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The IRS targeting of tea party and Christian groups during the 2012 presidential election campaign, when Barack Obama was seeking his second term, was just one of many examples of the deployment of the federal bureaucracy for political purposes during the previous administration. . .

Judicial Watch has obtained internal IRS documents that show a staff-level employee for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., urged the IRS to audit the targeted groups until it became “ruinous” for them.

Henry Kerner was McCain’s staff director and chief counsel of the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee at the time. He since has been appointed by President Trump to the United States Office of Special Counsel.

“The explosive exchange was contained in notes taken by IRS employees at an April 30, 2013, meeting between Kerner, [former IRS official Lois] Lerner, and other high-ranking IRS officials. Just ten days following the meeting, former IRS director of exempt organizations Lois Lerner admitted that the IRS had a policy of improperly and deliberately delaying applications for tax-exempt status from conservative non-profit groups,” Judicial Watch said. . .

“The Obama IRS scandal is bipartisan – McCain and Democrats who wanted to regulate political speech lost at the Supreme Court, so they sought to use the IRS to harass innocent Americans,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. (Read more from “McCain Staffer Had Nasty Plan for Tea Parties” HERE)

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John McCain Viciously Undermines Trump to World Leaders in Absolutely Inexcusable Message to Our Allies

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By Bizpac Review. . .Proving that he’s determined to be a thorn in President Trump’s side even on his deathbed, McCain once again tried to undermine the billionaire by slamming the tariffs Trump slapped on China and Canada (you know, like the ones they charge on American goods).

Senator McCain tweeted during the G7 Summit: “To our allies: bipartisan majorities of Americans remain pro-free trade, pro-globalization and supportive of alliances based on 70 years of shared values. Americans stand with you, even if our president doesn’t.”

For the record, a senator does not make U.S. trade policy, nor does he speak for all Americans.

McCain was reacting to President Trump’s controversial announcement that the U.S. will impose tariffs on some imports from Canada and China to make up for the decades-long trade deficit with the two countries.

(Read more from “John McCain Viciously Undermines Trump to World Leaders in Absolutely Inexcusable Message to Our Allies” HERE)

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Justin Trudeau Furious Over Trump’s Steel Tariffs, Says Canada Will Retaliate

By Daily Caller. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called President Donald Trump’s steel tariffs against his country’s products “inconceivable” and threatened to retaliate in kind within the coming months.

Trudeau called Trump’s protectionist gambit “totally unacceptable” during a Thursday afternoon press conference. It is “inconceivable” that “Canada could be considered a national security threat to the United States,” he added.

Canada will impose tariffs against American steel and aluminum in the amount of $16.6 billion at rates of 25 percent and 10 percent, a number representing the total value of Canada’s 2017 steel and aluminum U.S. exports. They’ll go into effect on July 1 and stay in place until the U.S. ends its own tariffs.

Tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico will take effect Thursday at midnight, Wilbur Ross, the U.S. commerce secretary, told The New York Times Thursday. All three together supply nearly half of America’s imported metal. (Read more from “Justin Trudeau Furious Over Trump’s Steel Tariffs, Says Canada Will Retaliate” HERE)

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Report: John McCain’s Wife to Succeed Him in the Senate

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Cindy McCain, the wife of Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, will reportedly succeed her husband if he should die in office.

Veteran journalist John Gizzi reported that multiple sources in the Grand Canyon State have been almost unanimous in their view that Republican Gov. Doug Ducey will appoint Cindy McCain.

A former Republican senator who served with John McCain told Newsmax‘s Gizzi, “I don’t know if this (succession) has been formalized, but that’s what people who know John tell me.”

“One source close to the McCain family said supporters of the senator have quietly let Gov. Ducey know Cindy is the choice of ‘Team McCain,’” Gizzi wrote.

An Arizona Republican strategist told The Western Journal that choosing Cindy McCain, 64, would be a safe choice for Ducey and may help his re-election bid this fall.

“She would certainly be a feel-good pick now,” the strategist said. “Though some of the more conservative elements of the party would probably not be pleased that another McCain was taking the seat, I think since it would occur after the death of Sen. McCain, the feel-good nature of it would surpass any negative feelings, at least in the short term.”

The strategist added if Cindy McCain votes like a moderate once assuming office, it could hurt Ducey should he decide to run for the seat later down the road.

Wednesday, May 30 is considered a key date, as it will determine how long a Ducey appointee will hold the seat, The Washington Post reported.

Arizona law requires that if John McCain should die in office before the end of his term, a special election must be held on the date of the next general election.

May 30 is seen as the unofficial deadline for a special election to take place this year, because it marks the date by which candidates must file for a November run. If McCain should pass some time thereafter, the election to fill his seat would likely happen no earlier than 2020.

“If there was a vacancy today and we made a decision on ‘yes, call a special election’ or ‘no, (don’t) call a special election’ … there is a 99.9 percent chance that litigation would ensue,” Eric Spencer — election services director in the office of Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan — told The Post last week.

In other words, the result could have been the Republicans having to defend not only retiring Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat in November (which has been rated a toss-up race), but McCain’s as well.

After May 30 — at 5 p.m. to be precise — successful litigation by Democrats leading to a special election this year diminishes greatly.

The Republican strategist told The Western Journal that Cindy McCain appears to want the appointment in the eventuality that her husband — who is battling an aggressive form of brain cancer — dies before the end of his term in 2022.

“I definitely noticed an uptick in Cindy McCain’s social media over the last couple of months,” he said. “So it sure feels like she’s angling for the seat.”

Former Arizona state Sen. Lori Klein told The Western Journal, “Cindy McCain is probably a safe bet for (Ducey) in the sense that it’s highly unlikely that she’ll run” at the end of her appointed term.

“The problem is you’re going to keep the McCain tentacles that control this party and are destroying this party in place,” Klein added. “That is my problem with a Cindy McCain nomination.”

“I don’t think we want a dynasty here is Arizona, especially not a McCain dynasty.”

Other potential Ducey choices who have been mentioned include former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, former Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives and current top Ducey aide Kirk Adams, recently appointed state treasurer Eileen Klein (no relation to Lori) and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, who serves on the State Board of Regents for Arizona’s public universities. (For more from the author of “Report: John McCain’s Wife to Succeed Him in the Senate” please click HERE)

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