Sen. John McCain’s funerals and memorial services this past week have been packed with an eclectic mix of liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, and everything in between. This should not be taken as a sign that the Arizona Republican was a go-along, get-along guy. He wasn’t.

He was often prickly, often angry, and played political hardball, with all the threats, arm-twisting, and vendettas that entails. So why did he end his life with so many friends and admirers, even in this day of extreme partisanship? Partly, of course, it is because he and the president cordially loathed each other, and that is reason enough for many critics of President Trump to cleave to the fallen senator.