Yesterday, at John McCain's memorial in Washington DC, many high-level political figures gave speeches to honour the late senator. As a national event, the eulogies made at the service were an opportunity to make a political point and nobody missed the chance, least of all Barack Obama.
Some of the speeches were more explicit, like that of McCain's daughter, Meghan, who went straight for Trump's throat: "The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again, because America was always great." Obama, on the other hand, played a more low-key game in the vein of the longstanding Kendrick vs. Drake will-they-or-won't-they beef. A highlight:
So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse, can seem small and mean and petty, trafficking in bombast and insult, in phony controversies and manufactured outrage. It’s a politics that pretends to be brave, but in fact is born of fear. John called us to be bigger than that. He called us to be better than that.
"So much of our public life" has to be one of the best nicknames for Trump thus far.
Even George Bush had a little barb for Trump, as he invoked the spirit of John McCain whispering "we are better than this, America is better than this." The subject of all the shade wasn't in attendance and it's a good thing, he likely wouldn't have been able to handle it.