The White House flag late Saturday night was lowered to half-staff to honor Sen. John McCain, who had passed away a few hours earlier. Assistant to the President Dan Scavino posted this image to Twitter:
The flag, as of Monday morning, was back at full-staff, literally about 36 hours after the iconic Arizona Senator’s passing, as CBS News’ Mark Knoller noted:
President Trump said nothing to honor his political rival, who happens to also be one of the most respected Senators in his own party. On Instagram he posted a photo of himself offering condolences to the McCain family, but wrote nothing about the Senator himself.
News reports state the White House communications shop drafted a statement honoring McCain, but Trump intervened and refused to allow it to be made public.
The President also issued no proclamation honoring Senator McCain. McCain served in the U.S. Senate for 31 years.
McCain lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Friday. There will be a national memorial service at Washington’s National Cathedral on Saturday,