Why McCain does not want Trump at his funeral

Senator John McCain is battling cancer. Photo / AP

Ailing Republican senator John McCain does not want US President Donald Trump to attend his funeral, the White House has been told.

Instead, his associates have asked Vice-President Mike Pence be at the ceremony when the time comes, and for former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush to give eulogies at the National Cathedral in Washington, according to the New York Times.

McCain, a former presidential candidate and Vietnam war hero, has been undergoing treatment for glioblastoma, a rare brain cancer, since his diagnosis last year, the Daily Telegraph reports.

He and Trump have had a turbulent relationship. During the 2016 presidential primary candidate Trump said McCain was considered a war hero only "because he was captured" during the Vietnam War and that he preferred military figures who avoided being taken prisoner by the enemy.

And last summer, the US leader criticised the Arizona politician for his "no" vote that helped doom a key part of his Obamacare repeal bill in the Senate.

When it was reported that the President had been "physically mocking" McCain for the thumbs down gesture the senator indicated during his vote, his daughter Meghan tweeted, "What more must my family be put through right now? This is abhorrent."

Reading from his memoir to be published next month, 81-year-old McCain said at the weekend: "I don't know how much longer I'll be here.

"Maybe I'll have another five years, maybe with the advances in oncology they'll find new treatments for my cancer that will extend my life. Maybe I'll be gone before you hear this; my predicament is, well, rather unpredictable."

In the memoir, The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and other Appreciations, he also reveals regret for picking Sarah Palin as his running-mate.

Speaking yesterday, Ben Domenech, his son-in-law, said McCain was "doing well" and that he and his family were grateful for the well-wishes and prayers but that this was a "terrible disease".

Anti-McCain twitter seems to have reached new heights (or depths) of repulsiveness. In the hope that a few of the haters see this, let me say: I’m proud to have voted for John McCain for president three times (2000 & 2008 primaries & 2008 general), and for Donald Trump...never.

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 6, 2018

John McCain Of Donald Trump: “He seems uninterested in the moral character of world leaders and their regimes. The appearance of toughness or a reality show facsimile of toughness seems to matter more than any of our values. Flattery secures his friendship, criticism his enmity.”

— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) May 5, 2018

I'm depressed to see scores of tweets from people who criticize John McCain's courage because he cast a vote or made a choice they don't like. Do you think you'll reach yr 80's w/out contradictions, mistakes, & regrets? Have you given a scintilla of the service of John McCain?

— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon) May 6, 2018

If you’re looking to slow down for a moment today and absorb a must read - a rare piece about humanity and politics by @jmartNYT https://t.co/XZBY6J0nTG

— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 6, 2018