Presidents and lawmakers from both parties honoured Sen. John McCain鈥檚 decades of service to his country . President Donald Trump, who once criticized McCain for being taken prisoner during the Vietnam War, said his 鈥渄eepest sympathies and respect鈥� went out to McCain鈥檚 family.
McCain, 81, died at his ranch in Arizona after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. On Saturday night, a black hearse accompanied by a police motorcade could be seen driving away from the ranch near Sedona where the Republican senator spent his final weeks.
I love you forever - my beloved father
鈥� Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain)
Trump鈥檚 brief Twitter statement said 鈥渉earts and prayers鈥� are with the McCain family. First lady Melania Trump thanked McCain for his service to the nation, which included more than five years as a prisoner of war and six terms in the Senate.
Trump and McCain were at odds until the end. The president, who mocked McCain鈥檚 capture in Vietnam during the 2016 campaign, jabbed at the senator even after his illness for voting against Republican efforts to roll back President Barack Obama鈥檚 health care law. Earlier this summer, McCain issued a blistering statement criticizing Trump鈥檚 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Former presidents, including those who blocked McCain鈥檚 own White House ambitions, offered emotional tributes.
Obama, who triumphed over McCain in the 2008 election, said that despite their differences, McCain and he shared a 鈥渇idelity to something higher - the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed.鈥�
Obama said the two political opponents 鈥渟aw our political battles, even, as a privilege, something noble, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those high ideals at home, and to advance them around the world.鈥�
Former President George W. Bush, who defeated McCain for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, called his one-time political rival 鈥渕an of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order鈥� and a 鈥渇riend whom I鈥檒l deeply miss.鈥�
McCain was the son and grandson of admirals and followed them to the U.S. Naval Academy. A pilot, he was shot down over Vietnam and held as a prisoner of war for more than five years. He went on to win a seat in the House and in 1986, the Senate, where he served for the rest of his life.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called McCain a 鈥渇ascinating personality.鈥�
鈥淗e would occasionally be in a bad place with various members, including myself, and when this would blow over it was like nothing ever happened,鈥� McConnell said Saturday after a GOP state dinner in Lexington, Kentucky. 鈥淗e also had a wicked sense of humour and it made every tense moment come out better.鈥�
Former Vice-President Joe Biden, who developed a friendship with McCain while they served together in the Senate, said the Arizona lawmaker will 鈥渃ast a long shadow.鈥�
鈥淭he spirit that drove him was never extinguished: we are here to commit ourselves to something bigger than ourselves,鈥� Biden said
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter that McCain was an American patriot and hero whose sacrifices for his country, and lifetime of public service, were an inspiration to millions.
Senator John McCain was an American patriot and hero whose sacrifices for his country, and lifetime of public service, were an inspiration to millions. Canadians join Americans tonight in celebrating his life and mourning his passing.
鈥� Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau)
Conservative party Leader Andrew Scheer praised McCain on Twitter, writing his decades of service in defence of freedom crossed party lines and touched freedom-loving people across borders.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper also expressed his sympathies, calling McCain an American hero, while former Progressive Conservative party leader Peter MacKay tweeted that freedom loving people everywhere are mourning the heartbreaking loss of a true voice for integrity and civility.
McCain was a war veteran who was captured in North Vietnam in 1967 and endured years of torture and abuse.
He died on Saturday after battling brain cancer for more than a year.
McCain is expected to be remembered in Arizona and Washington before being buried, likely this week, at the Naval Academy Cemetery on a peninsula overlooking the Severn River.
Other plans were taking shape, too. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that he wants to name the Senate building that housed McCain鈥檚 suite of offices after the Arizona senator, who served as chairman of the Commerce Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee.
鈥淎s you go through life, you meet few truly great people. John McCain was one of them,鈥� Schumer said. 鈥淢aybe most of all, he was a truth teller - never afraid to speak truth to power in an era where that has become all too rare.鈥�
Laurie Kellman, The Associated Press
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