Ex US presidents Obama and Bush pay tribute to Senator John McCain at a memorial service

Ex US presidents Obama and Bush pay tribute to Senator John McCain at a memorial service

By Dhanjay Deo
02/09/2018
Ex US presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush

Ex US presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush have paid tribute to Senator John McCain at a memorial service at Washington's National Cathedral.

The Vietnam War hero, who became one of America's most high‑profile politicians, died a week ago from brain cancer at the age of 81.

His daughter Meghan was the first to speak, paying an emotional tribute to her father while also criticising President Donald Trump's agenda.

Trump did not attend the service.

The two Republicans had major differences, both personal and political, and McCain's family made it clear that Trump was not welcome.

Members of the Trump administration who were present included the president's daughter Ivanka and son‑in‑law Jared Kushner.

Following memorial services in the state of Arizona ‑ which    McCain represented as a senator, and where he died last week and in Washington, a private burial service will be held at the US Naval Academy in Maryland tomorrow.

Yesterday, McCain's body was taken back to the Congress buildings where he worked for decades and lay in state in the Capitol overnight.

On the way from the Capitol to the cathedral, the cortege stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where his widow Cindy laid a wreath.

Meghan McCain told mourners at the cathedral that they are gathered to mourn the passing of American greatness.

Former President Obama paid tribute to the man he defeated in the 2008 US presidential election.

He described McCain as an "extraordinary man ‑ a warrior, a statesman, who embodied much of what made America great.

Bush ‑ who defeated McCain for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 ‑ paid tribute to the senator's courage, honesty and sense of honour.

Other speakers included former Senator Joe Lieberman and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

The pallbearers included Hollywood actor and liberal political activist Warren Beatty; former independent New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; liberal former Senator Russ Feingold, who drew up campaign finance reform legislation with McCain; and Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara Murza.

[Source:BBC News]

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