Trump should thank McCain and apologize, too

Tuesday morning began with President Trump continuing his attacks against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for his courageous and historically important role against the ill-fated Graham-Cassidy plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Trump, who preferred draft deferments to military service when he was young and our country was at war, should thank McCain, who served with valor and honor when duty called.

Trump, who waves the flag while he offers excuses after having been the favored candidate of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin when Russia attacked our elections, should thank McCain for devoting a career to preserving and protecting our freedom in military and public life.

While he was running for president, Trump, when discussing McCain’s extraordinary heroism as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, said that he prefers soldiers who were never captured. For this, Trump should offer the most humble apology to McCain and every American who has ever been a prisoner of war.

In a public interview, some journalist might ask retired Marine Corps Generals John Kelly and James Mattis what they think of Trump’s comments about American POWs. General H.R. McMaster, who once wrote a brilliant book titled, “Dereliction of Duty,” about the responsibility of speaking truth to power, should be asked to tell the nation what he thinks of Trump’s comments about McCain’s Vietnam service.

In his latest public service to America, McCain stepped out forcefully and clearly in his opposition to the latest disastrous Republican attempt to undermine health care in their failed seven-year effort to “repeal and replace ObamaCare.”  

Every Republican who supports the Graham-Cassidy bill will have to answer for that support at the polls. I recently wrote here that this bill is so bad that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) could be defeated by Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) in the upcoming midterm elections in part because of his support for Graham-Cassidy. Since then, Cruz has began to wiggle and waffle about this legislative fiasco, recently saying he opposed it.

Trump and every Senate Republican should thank McCain for doing the courageous thing in opposing this bill. If Graham-Cassidy ever became law, it would not only be a disaster for American health care, it would be the ultimate disaster for the Republican Party, which is now in enough trouble and politically owns every insurance premium increase that will happen before the 2018 and 2020 elections.

Sen. McCain is the kind of man who makes America great and makes the Senate and our public life better by his very presence. Trump is the kind of man who dishonors the values of the flag he waves and dirties the Oval Office he temporarily occupies.

Instead of uniting the nation while America faces a serious threat from North Korea and instead of summoning all of his energy to come to the rescue of hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, Trump attacks the patriotism of black athletes and posts juvenile tweets attacking McCain.

Donald Trump should apologize to John McCain for this, too.

George Washington once said that he would never tell a lie. The Founding Father of our country would detest the actions of the man who now sits in the White House, for reasons so obvious they need not be listed.

Sen. McCain ran for president and called his campaign the “Straight-Talk Express,” a phrase that brilliantly describes the Arizona Republican’s approach to public life. George Washington would believe that McCain embodies values of integrity, courage and patriotism that truly make America great.

Abraham Lincoln, a president for the ages, would be sick to his stomach by the behavior of Donald Trump. “Honest Abe” would not think kindly of the endless stream of falsehoods that come from the mouth and keyboard of President Trump. The “Great Emancipator” would be outraged by the politics of racial division that are the trademark of the Trump presidency.

Sen. McCain believes that politics should be a noble profession. He believes that legislators should work under the “regular order” of intelligent analysis of legislation, thoughtful hearings that would consider legislation in depth and a search for civility and bipartisanship in public life and in the Senate.

Lincoln, Washington — and Ronald Reagan as well — would honor the dignity and spirit of public service that McCain brings to American politics and the U.S. Senate.

John McCain embodies the highest ideals of public service, while Donald Trump embodies politics that appeal to the darker angels of our nature.

Instead of attacking McCain, Trump should thank him, apologize and change his ways before he further demeans the office he holds and the nation he is not fit to lead.

Brent Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), then-chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. in international financial law from the London School of Economics. He can be read on The Hill’s Contributors and reached atbrentbbi@webtv.net.