The late senator Army First Lt. Jamie McCain, the youngest son of John McCain, told CNN on Tuesday that he has changed his voter registration to Democrat and plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
His endorsement of the vice president comes after Republican nominee Donald Trump received widespread backlash following reports that a campaign aide shoved an employee at Arlington National Cemetery during a visit to the cemetery last week. Following the visit, the former president’s campaign posted videos and photos on social media taken at the cemetery — including photos in Section 60, an area reserved for recently deceased service members with strict rules surrounding media attendance.
Trump has since suggested that it was the Gold Star families, not his campaign, that distributed photos and videos of him at the cemetery.
“It really struck me,” McCain, who served in the military for 17 years, told CNN. “These men and women lying on the ground there had no choice” to become part of the backdrop of a political campaign, he added.
“Many of these men and women who served their country chose to do something greater than themselves,” McCain continued. “They woke up one morning, signed on the dotted line, raised their right hand, and chose to serve their country. And that’s an experience that Donald Trump has never had. And I think he’s probably thinking about that a lot.”
Trump, who has avoided military service on several occasions, has a long history of insulting U.S. military service members and veterans. In August, he bolstered his claim that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is better than the Medal of Honor because it involves no sacrifice.
Atlantic Ocean It also reported that Trump had made particular disparages of American military service members and veterans during a 2018 trip to France, calling Marines who died at Belleau Wood “suckers” and soldiers buried at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery “losers.” Although Trump denies this, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly confirmed many of the claims in the story, adding that at one point, Trump did not want to be seen with military amputees because “it doesn’t look good on them.” [him]”.”
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump infamously targeted veteran Republican Senator John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam War. “He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured,” Trump said.
Not only was the Vietnam veteran shot and tortured as a prisoner of war from 1967 to 1973, he was denied early release because other American soldiers had been imprisoned longer. When the senator died, Trump reportedly said, “We will not support the funeral of this loser.”
Speaking to CNN, Jamie McCain described the altercation between the Trump campaign aide and the cemetery employee as “abusive” and a “painful experience.” McCain, who has been an independent registrar for years, told the network he would “participate in any way I can” to help Harris win.
