White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Sunday called Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) an American hero and said she would definitely attend the senator’s funeral.
“Absolutely,” Sanders said when a TMZ reporter asked her if she would attend the Senate giant’s funeral.
{mosads}“He was an American hero,” Sanders continued, calling McCain’s death Saturday evening “a great loss for our country.”
Sanders’s comments came after President Trump reportedly nixed plans for a White House statement praising McCain, instead issuing a more neutral tweet of condolences.
The president had previously said that McCain, who survived torture in a North Vietnamese POW camp, is not a war hero.
After facing criticism of his response, the president on Monday somewhat changed his tone on the late senator.
After the White House re-lowered the flag to half-mast on Monday afternoon, Trump issued a new statement saying that despite “difference on policy and politics” he respects McCain’s “service to our country” and stating he has asked Vice President Pence to deliver remarks at a ceremony on Friday.
Unlike Sanders, the president has confirmed he will not be attending McCain’s funeral.