Meghan McCain on Saturday took a swing at President Trump at the memorial services for her father, Sen. John McCain, by saying America was always great.
“The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great,” she said to sustained applause in the pews.
“The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again, because America was always great.” https://t.co/l4cqNI6wtV pic.twitter.com/1WhUn28JaD
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) September 1, 2018
Sen. McCain famously feuded with Trump, and many of his opponents have taken to mocking his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.
Meghan McCain also seemed to take a dig at Trump earlier in her remarks, when she said her father was truly great, and didn’t just spew “cheap rhetoric” like others do.
“We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness. The real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly. Nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served. He was a great fire who burned bright,” she told the crowd assembled at the National Cathedral on Sunday to pay their respects.
McCain struggled for much of her remarks to hold back tears as she spoke about her father, who was honored by the presence of several former presidents, including Barack Obama, who defeated McCain in 2008. She said her father’s greatest role was as a father.
“Imagine the warrior of the the night the skies gently carrying his little girl to bed. Imagine the dashing aviator that hurtled into the South China Sea kissing her when I fell and skinned my knees. Imagine the distinguished statesman, council president, and the powerful, singing with his little girl during a rainstorm, ‘Singing in the Rain,'” she said.
McCain also related stories of her father taking her out of school to attend the town halls he held across the country as a learning experience, and encouraging her to get back up onto her horse after a fall.
“You all have to imagine that. I don’t have to because I lived at all. I know who he was. I know what defined him. I got to see it every single day of my blessed life,” she said.
Her father’s life, she said, was defined by love. That great love, she said, is woven into his family’s lives and the country he served.
“Dad, your greatness is woven into my life. It is woven into my mother’s life, it is woven into my sister’s life and that is woven into my brothers lives. It is woven into life and liberty of the country you sacrificed so much to defend. I know you were not perfect. We live in an era where we knock down old American heroes for all their imperfections. When no leader wants to admit to failure. You were an exception and to give us an ideal to strive for,” she said.
