McCain’s grandfather and great-grandfather are both buried at the cemetery in Northern Virginia. Jimmy has served in the military for 17 years.
“It just blows me away,” he told CNN. “These men and women that are laying in the ground there have no choice” if they will be part of a campaign stop.
“I just think that for anyone who’s done a lot of time in their uniform, they just understand that inherently — that it’s not about you there,” he added. “It’s about these people who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their country.”
Other members of the McCain family have publically disavowed Trump. Cindy McCain, the widow of the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020. Their daughter, Meghan McCain, has also distanced herself from Trump, but Jimmy McCain is the only one who has publically left the Republican Party.
Jimmy McCain, son of late U.S. Senator John McCain, touches his father’s casket during ceremonies honoring the late US Senator John McCain inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, August 31, 2018. Now, he is blasting Donald Trump over the Republican nominee’s visit to Arlington. (Getty Images)
Meghan McCain wrote on X last week that she wouldn’t endorse Harris.
“Please stop trying to turn me into a progressive. It’s a fever dream. I’m a life long, generational conservative,” she wrote .
On Tuesday, amid the news of her brother’s comments, she added : “I greatly respect the wide variety of political opinions of all of my family members and love them all very much. I however, remain a proud member of the Republican Party and hope for brighter days ahead. (Not voting for Harris or Trump, hope that clears things up).”
Jimmy McCain enlisted with the Marines when he was 17 years old. He’s now an intelligence officer with the 158th Infantry Regiment.
Trump had previously attacked his father, the once-Republican presidential nominee, claiming he was not a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam, and also describing John McCain as a “loser.”
Jimmy McCain told CNN that his father “chose a public life” and so “to attack him is really not out of the realm of his job description.” He added, though, that he didn’t “think I could ever overlook” comments Trump made about his father.
He said Trump’s disrespect for fallen soldiers comes from an insecurity about not having served himself, emphasizing that he’s speaking for himself and not for the Army.
Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery on Monday last week for a wreath-laying ceremony in remembrance of the 13 servicemembers killed in 2021 during a bombing at the Abbey Gate at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan during the US withdrawal from the country.
The Trump campaign recorded Trump’s visit, which prompted an incident between a member of staff at the cemetery who tried to stop the campaign from filming and taking photos in an area with recent burials. It’s a violation of federal law, army regulations and the policies of the Department of Defense, according to the Army.
The Trump campaign has not backtracked from the incident. The cemetery staffer was allegedly pushed aside and the campaign subsequently published the footage despite the pushback.
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