Washington elite pay tribute to John McCain while Donald Trump tweets from afar
McCain asked Obama and Bush, a Democrat and a Republican, to deliver eulogies at his service, in a final message to the country about his wish for bipartisanship
Former US presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush gathered with thousands of fellow mourners on Saturday to honour the late John McCain, the long-time Arizona senator and Vietnam war hero whose bids for the White House were dashed by the two men.
McCain’s body, which had lain in state at the US Capitol, arrived at the Washington National Cathedral after his motorcade first stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where his wife, Cindy McCain, laid a wreath to honour those who died in the war.
Members of the military slowly carried McCain’s coffin into the cathedral, past friends and loved ones who have counted among the top power players in US politics for decades. Conspicuously absent was Republican President Donald Trump.
McCain asked Obama and Bush, a Democrat and a Republican, to deliver eulogies at his service, in what was seen as a final message to the country about his wish for bipartisanship.
The statesman and former prisoner of war died August 25 of brain cancer, days shy of his 82nd birthday.