Freshman GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw (Texas) is calling on President Trump to stop his attacks on the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
“Mr. President, seriously stop talking about Senator McCain,” Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who won national attention when he was the target of a joke on “Saturday Night Live,” wrote in a tweet.
Crenshaw argued the attacks on McCain were senseless.{mosads}
“There is just no reason to be talking about Senator McCain after he has passed. He is not your political enemy Mr. President,” he said.
Trump this week has repeatedly bashed McCain, who died from brain cancer in August.
Trump also told reporters Tuesday he was “never a fan” of McCain and that he never would be, and on Wednesday said McCain was weak on veterans issues and “didn’t get the job done for our great vets at the [Department of Veterans Affairs] and they knew it.”
The president’s remarks have spurred bipartisan backlash, with a number of Republicans defending McCain’s legacy as a war hero and public servant.
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said Wednesday that Trump’s attacks were “deplorable” during an appearance on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said the president’s comments were not appreciated on Thursday.
“I can’t stop the president. What I can do is say, ‘Mr. President, I don’t appreciate it.’ You know, they had their differences, I get it, but he’s my friend,” she said at a town hall.