John McCain’s son blasted Trump’s visit to Arlington as a violation
John McCain’s son blasted Trump’s visit to Arlington as a violation
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00:00Donald Trump is adding a new layer to the Arlington Cemetery controversy.
00:03He's now blaming Vice President Kamala Harris for part of the drama.
00:07Trump, as you may recall, was at Arlington on Monday of last week.
00:10He was there to mark three years since the tragic bombing at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan
00:15that killed 13 U.S. service members.
00:17The families of several of those fallen service members say they personally
00:21invited Mr. Trump to be there and to take photos with him at Section 60.
00:25That is an area largely reserved for those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
00:28Political activity is not allowed on the property.
00:32A Trump campaign spokesman said on X that they were granted access to have a photographer
00:37and posted a document stating, quote,
00:39only former President Trump may have an official photographer and or videographer
00:43outside the main pool area, unquote.
00:45Now, National Public Radio first reported a physical altercation at Section 60 between
00:50Trump staffers and a cemetery employee who tried to stop the Trump staff from taking photos and
00:55video that was later used in a Trump campaign video that Trump shared on social media.
01:00The U.S. Army said Trump's team knew the rules, yet, quote,
01:04abruptly pushed aside, unquote, the cemetery employee.
01:07Now, the Trump campaign disputes that.
01:08They say there was no physical altercation and says the employee, quote,
01:12decided to physically block members of President Trump's team
01:15during a very solemn ceremony, unquote.
01:18Today, Trump says, quote, there was no conflict or fighting, unquote.
01:21Trump added without any evidence that Kamala Harris, quote, made it all up to make up for
01:26the fact that she and Sleepy Joe have blood on their hands for the incompetent Afghanistan
01:31withdrawal, unquote.
01:32My next guest comes from a big name in Republican politics.
01:35He does not make public appearances, but he is speaking out now.
01:38Because of what happened last week, I want to bring in Jim McCain.
01:43He is the youngest son of the late Republican Senator John McCain.
01:47He is also an Army intelligence officer who served previously as a U.S. Marine.
01:52Jim, thank you so much for joining us.
01:53Tell us why you called Trump's visit to Arlington a violation.
02:00Thank you for having me, sir.
02:01Well, as you well know, sir, Arlington Cemetery is sacred to all people who have all people
02:08are members of the military, all people who have served in the uniform.
02:11It's a sacred area.
02:12There's three generations of McCain's that are buried there.
02:16It's a violation because these rules are set in place.
02:18The people who are buried there don't have an opinion.
02:22The point of Arlington Cemetery is to go and show respect for the men and women who have
02:26given their lives to this country.
02:28When you make it political, you take away the respect of the people who are there.
02:34So you're recently back from a seven month deployment to Tower 22 in Jordan.
02:39That's near the border with Syria.
02:41Three U.S. soldiers were killed there just this past January.
02:44And this idea of a sacred space and grieving families, it's not just theoretical for you.
02:53Yes, sir.
02:53I mean, I was not personally at Tower 22 when that attack happened.
02:56But after being directly on the ground right after, I understand the pain that we saw there,
03:03the young men and women who are serving there and what they went through.
03:06Once again, it's it's a solemn thing.
03:08You know, these these young people are taking time out of their lives when they could be
03:12bettering themselves, you know, college, things like that.
03:15And they're joining the military because they feel it's the right thing.
03:18And the least we can do is when they're gone, if they you know, when they're in Arlington,
03:22is to respect the rules and regulations that are in place,
03:26like not politicizing the fact that these men and women are there.
03:30Go show respect.
03:32I understand that he was invited.
03:34Show respect and leave.
03:35It doesn't need to be videoed.
03:37Now, there is a difference between video from Arlington showing up in campaign ads
03:43and going to actually expressly film at Arlington for the purpose of a campaign ad.
03:49And we should note, because just because I'm old enough, I remember in 1999 when your dad,
03:53Senator John McCain, had campaign video that showed him walking through the cemetery.
03:57But after it was pointed out that some people thought that was inappropriate,
04:03your dad called it a very bad mistake and apologized for it.
04:08If Donald Trump apologized for it and called it a mistake,
04:12would he earn any points back with you?
04:15Again, I recognize it's not the exact same thing, but I'm just wondering
04:19because this really seems to have bothered you that he that Mr. Trump did this.
04:25Yeah, I mean, the first thing about, you know, John McCain,
04:28you don't spend that long in politics without messing up once or twice.
04:32And the main point is that he pulled it down and he understood the solemn,
04:36you know, sanctified nature of that Arlington National Cemetery.
04:42So if Donald Trump pulled it down and apologized, I mean, it would be the right thing to do.
04:47But look at his history towards veterans.
04:49Look, at this point, you know, I don't know what else he has to do, you know.
04:55The answer is no.
04:57Yeah.
04:57So, I mean, this has been, as you know,
05:01Donald Trump has said a lot of things that have offended people in the veterans community.
05:06It may have started, actually, when he said that your dad wasn't a war hero because he was
05:11captured. That was back in 2015. And then there are all the other things that he has said and
05:16done, including what former Marine General and Chief of Staff John Kelly said that he said behind
05:22closed doors and suckers, losers, et cetera. You were a political independent for years,
05:29and you just recently registered as a Democrat. Why the switch? And how much of you moving
05:40not into the Republican Party, but starting as an independent and now moving to the Democratic
05:44Party, how much of that is because of Trump and his effect on the Republican Party and his attitude
05:51towards veterans?
05:54I mean, to begin, you know, what Trump said about my father is
05:58irreprehensible. I mean, it's I've never forgotten it. And, you know, to remind everyone,
06:03you know, John McCain was my father as well. And, you know, he was the guy I went to when I skinned
06:07my knee, you know, so to hear those things said about him, I could never forgive. You know,
06:12the one thing about John McCain is that he cared about his country and he lived his life that way.
06:17So as we moved on and I, you know, I was gone for a year, so I didn't have a chance to
06:21change. But as soon as I was back, I see, you know, I care about my family. I care about equal
06:27rights of everyone in this country. I care about all this. And, you know, as much as I
06:32stayed as an independent, I decided that, you know, it was time to move on and do what I believe
06:37in. You know, the point of the fact of the matter that he said it constantly is country first.
06:41You have to think about your country first. However, that is care about your country,
06:45care about how making it better, not being divided, but being together as one to continue
06:50to be the greatest country in the world. Yeah, just as a factual matter, I mean,
06:54your father, first of all, a lot of people are taken prisoner during war. And your father was
06:59offered early release because his father was an admiral during the Vietnam War. His grandfather
07:04was too. And he declined early release because that's not how prisoners are supposed to be
07:10released. They're supposed to be released in the order of how they were captured. And that is
07:14the definition of heroic. What do other veterans say to you? Because obviously,
07:22just as a matter of statistics, most white men in this country are supporting Donald Trump,
07:28just statistically. And most white men in the military are supporting Donald Trump.
07:32What do you hear from when it comes to your former colleagues in the Marines and your
07:37current colleagues in the Army? I mean, I think that it's just like
07:42anywhere else. I mean, veterans are people just like everyone else. And there's a plethora of
07:48diverse opinions. I think that people are still trying to figure out what's happening in this
07:53election and which way they're going to go, especially with Kamala Harris entering the race.
07:58And I think that just like any other group of people, everyone's trying to figure it out.
08:02It's a diverse group of people. And they're all trying to look what's going to help the military.
08:09That's the main thought for most of them. The Arizona Republican Party is rather extreme.
08:17And I was talking about this with Senator Kelly earlier. But the idea that, I mean,
08:22according to polls, that they're about to lose another Senate race because they keep nominating
08:28people who are election deniers and not grounded in reality. It's a very different Republican Party
08:32than the one that supported your dad and Senator John Kyle, Barry Goldwater, and on and on.
08:40Were you going to become a Democrat either way? Or did Kamala Harris play a role?
08:46And what has been the impact of the Arizona Republican Party on your beliefs?
08:54I mean, I think the Arizona Republican Party is trying to express what they believe is the best.
08:59They did censor my mother and my entire family out of it. So they're choosing the path that they want
09:04to go. But I think one of the main points of switching over and coming over has been, like I
09:11said, I feel that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz embody a group of people that will help make this country
09:19better, that will take us forward. And that's really what matters at the end of the day,
09:23is voting with your heart, voting how you feel going forward. And that's how I feel.
09:29Jim McCain, thank you so much for being here. I met you when you were 11 back in 1999. I don't
09:35expect that you would remember it. But I met you when you were 11. And I know your dad would be
09:38really proud of your service. So thank you so much for being with us today. Thank you, sir.