UPDATE: President Trump ordered flags at the White House lowered to half-staff again Monday to mark the death of Sen. John McCain after heavy criticism from veterans groups and others.
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Earlier:
Two of the nation’s largest veterans groups called on President Trump Monday to show more respect to the late Sen. John McCain by ordering all U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff, including at the White House.
The American Legion and AMVETS urged the White House to follow long-established tradition following the death of prominent government officials, and keep flags flying at half-staff until Mr. McCain’s interment on Sunday. The White House raised its flags to full staff Monday after flying them at half-staff Saturday night and Sunday after the death of the 81-year-old former Vietnam prisoner of war.
American Legion National Commander Denise Rohan reminded Mr. Trump in a letter that he issued presidential proclamations earlier this year calling for flags to fly at half-staff for extended periods to mark the deaths of former first lady Barbara Bush and the Rev. Billy Graham.
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“Senator John McCain was an American hero and cherished member of The American Legion,” Ms. Rohan wrote. “As I’m certain you are aware, he served five and a half years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and retired from the U.S. Navy at the rank of captain. He then served in the U.S. Congress for more than three decades.”
“On the behalf of The American Legion’s two million wartime veterans, I strongly urge you to make an appropriate presidential proclamation noting Senator McCain’s death and legacy of service to our nation, and that our nation’s flag be half-staffed through his internment,” she wrote.
AMVETS said Mr. McCain deserved a longer-lasting show of respect from the White House.
“It’s outrageous that the White House would mark American hero John McCain’s death with a two-sentence tweet, making no mention of his heroic and inspiring life,” Joe Chenelly, AMVETS national executive director, said in a statement. “By lowering flags for not one second more than the bare minimum required by law, despite a long-standing tradition of lowering flags until the funeral, the White House is openly showcasing its blatant disrespect for Senator McCain’s many decades of service and sacrifice to our country as well as the service of all his fellow veterans.”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, called the White House’s move to raise the flags again “shameful.”
Flags at the U.S. Capitol were being flown at half-staff.
U.S. code calls for flags to be lowered after the death of a member of Congress “on the day of death and the following day.” But presidents can, and have, issued proclamations extending that period.
Mr. Trump and Mr. McCain had little use for each other, and feuded off and on since Mr. Trump announced is candidacy in 2015. The senator reportedly expressed the wish that the president not attend his funeral, at which former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama will speak.
Mr. Trump tweeted condolences to Mr. McCain’s family Saturday night but said nothing about the senator himself.
The president has criticized Mr. McCain repeatedly in the past year for providing the pivotal vote that prevented Republicans from eliminating Obamacare in July 2017.
Among those paying tribute to Mr. McCain have been first lady Melania Trump, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis and White House national security adviser John R. Bolton, who called the senator “an American hero.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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