Bingo. This is exactly the point. People can take issue with McCain for his politics. They can forever begrudge his style and, as Trump does, his decisive vote against the GOP’s Obamacare repeal bill. But when you take that a step further and say he’ll never be worthy of your regard, you’re implicitly opting out of the bargain I described at the top. And it does send a signal to everyone, as in the time of Vietnam, that military service isn’t something that inherently defines you as a person worthy of respect. It also degrades the attractiveness of service for would-be recruits.<doc-sep>Last August on the Senate floor, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) said “Anybody who in any way tarnishes the reputation of John McCain deserves a whipping.” Fast-forward to Wednesday when Isakson, in multiple forums, absolutely shredded President Donald Trump for his latest attacks on the deceased Arizona senator. Isakson told The Bulwark — a NeverTrump website — that he plans to condemn the president from the Senate floor. “[T]he country deserves better, the McCain family deserves better, I don’t care if he’s president of United States, owns all the real estate in New York, or is building the greatest immigration system in the world,” Isakson told The Bulwark. “Nothing is more important than the integrity of the country and those who fought and risked their lives for all of us.” Later, the senator dialed up his criticism during an interview with Georgia Public Broadcasting “It’s deplorable what he said,” Isakson said. “It will be deplorable seven months from now if he says it again.” The senator then referenced Trump’s infamous comments questioning McCain’s standing as a war hero. “If my kids ever said John McCain was never a war hero…they’d have a serious conversation with me, and I would have it with them,” he said. Watch above, via Georgia Public Broadcasting. [featured photo via Getty Images] Have a tip we should know? [email protected]<doc-sep>Wednesday CNN played a clip from Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind,” of Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) criticizing President Donald Trump’s criticism of late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Responding to the president saying, “I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be,” Isakson said, “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. I will continue to speak out because there’s one thing that we’ve got to do — you may not like immigration, you may not like this, you may not like that, you may be a Republican or Democrat, we’re all Americans.” “There aren’t Democratic casualties and Republican casualties on the battlefield, there are American casualties,” he continued. “And we should never reduce the service people give to this country, particularly the offering of their own life to political fodder.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN<doc-sep>Dana Bash: This is so telling about where the Republican party is NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 24: Trump Tower stands on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on August 24, 2018 in New York City. Following new allegations over hush money that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid to an adult-film actress, the Manhattan district attorneyÕs office in New York City may seek criminal charges against the Trump Organization in the coming days. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 08: US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA) remarks on the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the US Capitol November 8, 2006 in Washington, DC. Warner said he supports President George W. Bush's nomination of former CIA Director Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense. Warner said he anticipates Gates' confirmation before the end of the year. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), joined by Senate Assistant Minority Leader John Thune (R-SD) (L) and Senate Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), speaks following a Senate Republican Policy luncheon at the Russell Senate Office Building on May 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. (CNN) — Sen. Johnny Isakson said President Donald Trump’s criticism of the late Sen. John McCain is “deplorable,” and the Georgia Republican promised to continue speaking out against Trump if he continues to speak ill of the deceased war hero and former GOP presidential nominee. “It’s deplorable what he said,” Isakson told Georgia Public Broadcasting on Wednesday afternoon when asked about a series of critical comments Trump has made about McCain. “That’s what I said on 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 to speak out.” Isakson continued “There aren’t Democratic causalities and Republican casualties on the battlefield, there are American casualties. And we should never reduce the service that people give to this country including the offering of their own lives to any political fodder in Washington, DC, or anywhere else for that matter.” In the wake of McCain’s death last year, Isakson gave a Senate speech at the time that said “anybody who in any way tarnishes the reputation of John McCain deserves a whipping because most of those who would do the wrong thing about John McCain didn’t have the guts to do the right thing when it was their turn.” Isakson told the station Wednesday, “we can’t talk about our veterans in any way but to thank them for the service they render for the job that they do.” “If my kids started talking John McCain not being a hero, or because he was a prisoner of war didn’t make any difference, they would have a serious conversation with me and I would have it with them,” Isakson continued. Isakson previewed his comments Wednesday in remarks to The Bulwark, where said in an interview Tuesday that “I want to do what I said that day on the floor of the Senate.” “I just want to lay it on the line, that the country deserves better, the McCain family deserves better, I don’t care if he’s President of United States, owns all the real estate in New York, or is building the greatest immigration system in the world. Nothing is more important than the integrity of the country and those who fought and risked their lives for all of us,” Isakson told the news outlet from the conservative Defending Democracy Together Institute. Isakson has previously made clear his reluctance to criticize Trump. “I’m not going to answer the question the way it was phrased Because the (headline) would be, ‘Isakson supports rebuking the President,’ and I’m not going to do that,” Isakson said last week ahead of Senate votes aimed at rebuking the President. “Any way that I answer your questions is going to engage me in that line of thinking and I don’t want to be on either side of it. I want us to get the job done for the people we represent and not fool around with a bunch of political fights that make good headlines but don’t make any good policies.” Last weekend, Trump attacked the late senator in several tweets that targeted McCain’s ties to the controversial Russia dossier and his vote against repealing Obamacare. He also referred to McCain as being “last in his class” at the US Naval Academy. On Tuesday, he continued his criticism of McCain, telling reporters at the White House that “I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be.” Isakson told The Bulwark that the President’s comments “drive me crazy” and that “nobody — regardless of their position — is above common decency and respect for people that risk their life for your life.” This story has been updated with additional developments Wednesday.<doc-sep>
WASHINGTON – Donald Trump's renewed rhetorical attacks on John McCain are not sitting well with other Republicans – particularly one senator who said he plans to deliver a verbal "whipping" to the president. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., told the website The Bulwark that he plans to give a speech Wednesday on Trump's criticisms of the late Arizona senator, who was the GOP presidential nominee in 2008. “I just want to lay it on the line, that the country deserves better," Isakson said. "The McCain family deserves better, I don’t care if he’s president of United States, owns all the real estate in New York, or is building the greatest immigration system in the world." He added: "Nothing is more important than the integrity of the country and those who fought and risked their lives for all of us.” 'I can’t understand why':Mitt Romney criticizes Trump for attacks on the late John McCain Meghan McCain:View co-host fires back at Trump and his 'pathetic life' following John McCain tweet When McCain died in August, Isakson said on the floor of the Senate that "anybody who in any way tarnishes the reputation of John McCain deserves a whipping." Another former Republican presidential nominee, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, also criticized Trump's tart comments about McCain. "I can’t understand why the President would, once again, disparage a man as exemplary as my friend John McCain: heroic, courageous, patriotic, honorable, self-effacing, self-sacrificing, empathetic, and driven by duty to family, country, and God," Romney wrote Tuesday on Twitter. During a series of tweets over the weekend, Trump hit McCain for his handling of a salacious dossier compiled by a former British spy on Trump's relationship with Russia. Court filings unsealed last week detailed McCain's role in the dossier, which set off Trump's criticism of the late senator. Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Trump amplified his critique: "I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be."