Key Republicans are defending the late Sen. John McCain as a "hero" against ongoing attacks from President Donald Trump, daring to say what most in the GOP still won't seven months after the Arizona senator's death from brain cancer.
Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson has addressed the issue several times. He appeared on the GPB show Political Rewind this afternoon.
“It’s deplorable what he said. That’s what I called it from the floor of the senate seven months ago. It will be deplorable seven months from now if he says it again, and I will continue speaking out because that’s one thing that we’ve got to do,” Isakson says. “You may not like immigration; you may not like this; you may not like that; you may be a republican; you may be a democrat. We’re all Americans. There aren’t Democratic casualties and Republican casualties on the battlefield; there are American casualties. And we should never reduce the service that people give to this country, offering their own lives to end up political fodder.”
Isakson says that he's had enough of the president’s personal attacks on McCain and that "the country deserves better."
“I’m the one that had laid the mantle down on August of last year. I’m the one that already said it. The President last week breached it again and again stated his dislike for John McCain and lack of respect, I would say is the right word, for his service. And I just don’t think that is appropriate,” Isakson says.
Trump has escalated his feud with McCain in recent days, saying he was "never a fan" of the former GOP presidential candidate and "never will be." Over the weekend, Trump renewed his long-running grievances in some caustic tweets.
McCain served in the Vietnam War and died of brain cancer last year. As an Arizona senator he was a Trump foe.
