Barron Trump’s mother, Melania Trump, took to Twitter on Wednesday to wish her son a happy 13th birthday.
His dad, Donald Trump, instead spent the majority of the day feuding with deceased war hero John McCain.
President Trump has been locked in a multi-day attack against McCain, the longtime Arizona senator who died seven months ago. As People magazine reported, the one-sided feud even overshadowed the 13th birthday celebrations for Trump’s youngest son. The report noted that Donald Trump offered no public birthday wishes for his son, instead heading off to Ohio for a tour of a manufacturing plant.
During the visit, Trump continued in his fifth day of attacking John McCain, saying he didn’t get enough credit for “giving” McCain a funeral.
“I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted,” Trump told reporters at the campaign-style rally, via CNBC . “I didn’t get (a) thank you but that’s OK.”
Wednesday’s birthday was a big one for Barron, who joins Malia and Sasha Obama in entering their teenage years while living in the White House.
Donald Trump has earned widespread criticism for his continued attacks on John McCain. Trump started by criticizing McCain for turning over to the FBI the Steele dossier, which was compiled during the 2016 presidential campaign by British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and details allegations that Trump’s campaign directly colluded with Russia to interfere in the election. McCain wrote in his final memoir that he felt a duty to pass along the serious accusations, though Trump has repeatedly called the dossier fake — despite several points having been proven true through the course of the Russia investigation.
Donald Trump’s failure to acknowledge his son’s birthday reverberated across Twitter, with many criticizing the president for paying more attention to a dead John McCain than his living son.
While Melania Trump Wishes Son Barron a Happy 13th Birthday, His Dad Is Fighting with a ‘Stone Cold Loser’ https://t.co/3iryOWo3mv
— People (@people) March 20, 2019
Like any good father, Donald Trump is celebrating Barron’s birthday by picking a fight with the ghost of a war hero.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) March 20, 2019
Trump had long reviled McCain, who, early in the 2016 presidential campaign, said he could not support Trump. That led to a series of attacks from Trump, who said he didn’t believe McCain was a war hero since he was shot down and captured in Vietnam.
Donald Trump’s latest attacks on John McCain have also drawn the ire of many Republicans, including several who served with McCain in the U.S. Senate. Others have called for more Republicans to be vocal in rebuking Trump.
“I hope (Trump’s) indecency to John’s memory and to the McCain family will convince more officeholders that they can’t ignore the damage Trump is doing to politics and to the country’s well-being or remain silent despite their concerns,” said Mark Salter, John McCain’s biographer, via CNBC. “They must speak up.”