Meghan McCain: ‘Child’ Donald Trump threatened by John McCain’s greatness, ‘won’t let him RIP’

Meghan McCain called President Trump an immature child who won’t let her father rest in peace in a blistering tweet Wednesday evening.

“The View” co-host and daughter of the late Sen. John McCain was reacting to a report in the Wall Street Journal that USS John McCain was hidden from Mr. Trump for his Memorial Day weekend visit to Japan and its sailors were given the day off to cut down the chance Mr. Trump would see the name of the Arizona senator and a persistent critic of his.

“Trump is a child who will always be deeply threatened by the greatness of my dad’s incredible life,” Ms. McCain wrote. “It makes my grief unbearable.”

Trump is a child who will always be deeply threatened by the greatness of my dads incredible life. There is a lot of criticism of how much I speak about my dad, but nine months since he passed, Trump won’t let him RIP. So I have to stand up for him.

It makes my grief unbearable. https://t.co/gUbFAla1VE

— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) May 30, 2019

Ms. McCain acknowledged that she frequently takes to social media to speak about her father, but she blamed that, at least in part, on Mr. Trump frequent rhetorical blasts at him.

“There is a lot of criticism of how much I speak about my dad, but nine months since he passed, Trump won’t let him RIP. So I have to stand up for him,” Ms. McCain wrote.

The Wall Street Journal report that prompted Ms. McCain to react said the request, citing a May 15 email to U.S. Navy and Air Force officials, grew out of “conversations between the White House Military Office and the Seventh Fleet of the U.S. Navy.”

Some of the email recipients expressed surprise at the request, the Journal reported, because, among other reasons, the USS John McCain is undergoing repairs at Yokosuka naval base in Japan after a collision, which would make it difficult to move.

“A tarp was hung over the ship’s name ahead of the president’s trip, according to photos reviewed by the Journal, and sailors were directed to remove any coverings from the ship that bore its name. After the tarp was taken down, a barge was moved closer to the ship, obscuring its name,” the Journal wrote.

The president denied any knowledge of the incident Wednesday night.

“I was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. McCain during my recent visit to Japan,” Mr. Trump tweeted.

He said he and first lady Melania Trump nevertheless “loved being with our great Military Men and Women - what a spectacular job they do!”

In a statement early Thursday morning, Pentagon officials said Acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan had no knowledge of the incident.

“Secretary Shanahan was not aware of the directive to move the USS John S McCain nor was he aware of the concern precipitating the directive,” said Mr. Shanahan’s spokesman, Lt. Col. Joe Buccino.

The USS John McCain is only partially named for the Republican politician and Vietnam war POW. It also honors his father and grandfather, both also named “John McCain” and both of whom were Navy admirals.