WASHINGTON — Two of Sen. John McCain’s dearest friends on Sunday praised daughter Meghan McCain’s fiery eulogy that took swipes at President Trump. “She did it magnificently,” said former Sen. Joe Lieberman on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And she did it the way her dad would want her to do it.” “Yesterday, I was a very proud uncle,” Lieberman added. In an emotional tribute Saturday, Meghan McCain drew bipartisan applause when she directly mocked Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, saying, “The America of John McCain does not need to be made great again, because America was always great.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), another best friend of McCain and also an ally of Trump, said he too was very “proud” of Meghan. “She’s a beautiful, talented young lady,” Graham said. “She is her father’s daughter. If you say something bad about her dad, you will know it, whether you are the janitor or the president of the United States. She is grieving for the father she adored.” “I am just so proud of the young lady she has become,” Graham said. Trump, who routinely criticized McCain and once declared the Vietnam POW wasn’t a war hero, wasn’t invited to the funeral. Instead, former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush eulogized the late senator and praised McCain’s character and service. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, however, did attend, as well as other members of Trump’s staff and cabinet. Lieberman said he spoke with Ivanka and Jared after the funeral and the two White House aides were not offended by the anti-Trump rhetoric. “There were no complaints,” Lieberman said. “They felt the whole service was a great tribute to him and elevating.” Meghan McCain, a co-host of ABC’s “The View,” set the tone for the funeral with her opening eulogy by drawing contrasts between her father and those currently in power. “We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness,” McCain said. “The real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who lived lives of comfort and privilege.” Ohio Gov. John Kasich, another frequent Trump critic, said Meghan McCain “was just incredible.” Kasich is mulling a 2020 challenge against Trump and wants to “do his level best” to save the Republican Party. “John McCain, no matter what position he took, always figured out a way to build a bridge,” Kasich told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “And now we have a leader who is either unable or unwilling to unite the country and at the same time to be able to use the strength of America … to make the world a better place.”<doc-sep>Meghan McCain, John McCain’s daughter, delivered a powerful speech at her father’s funeral on Saturday, and in a reproach of President Trump, said the “America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because it was always great.” Ms. McCain’s speech contrasted her father’s legacy with the “opportunistic appropriation” and “cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly.” “He was a fire that burned bright,” Ms. McCain said. “A few have resented that fire for the light it cast upon them, for the truth it revealed about their character, but my father never cared what they thought. And even that small number still have the opportunity, as long as they draw breath, to live up to the example of John McCain.” Ms. McCain’s speech, and her rebuke, came as Mr. Trump, wearing golf gear, a white shirt and a “Make America Great Again” hat, left the White House for his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va. Mr. Trump, who was not invited to Mr. McCain’s funeral, has long mocked and condemned the senator.<doc-sep>Meghan McCain’s eulogy for her father, US senator John McCain, on Saturday (Sept. 1) has been described as a “swipe” at US president Donald Trump, and a “fiery” rebuke of his political approach. But beyond the politics, McCain’s speech was also a heartfelt commemoration of her relationship with her father, and of the important lessons he imparted to her. Perhaps one of the most moving anecdotes from her speech related to a moment when her father taught her the importance of moving forward with dignity after experiencing failure or pain. “I was a small girl, thrown from a horse and crying from a busted collarbone. My dad picked me up. He took me to the doctor, he got me all fixed up. Then he immediately took me back home and made me get back on the same horse. I was furious at him as a child, but how I love him for it now.” Looking back, McCain says she couldn’t have comprehended how much her pain paled in comparison to what her father experienced as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. “He could have sat me down and told me that and made me feel small because my complaint and fear was nothing next to his pain and memory. Instead, he made me feel loved. ‘Meghan,’ he said in his quiet voice that spoke with authority and meant you had best obey. ‘Get back on the horse.’ I did. And because I was a little girl, I resented it. Now that I am a woman, I look back across that time and see the expression on his face when I climbed back up and rode again, and see the pride and love in his eyes as he said ‘Nothing is going to break you. '” McCain says this lesson in resilience has remained with her for life. As gender equality takes root in countries across the world, fathers are becoming increasingly involved in their children’s upbringing. This provides a unique opportunity for men to positively impact the lives of their daughters by actively preparing them for the obstacles they may face in the future, particularly gendered ones such as bullying and workplace harassment. Resilience, self-confidence, and leadership are lessons that children can learn from both their parents. But as long as sexism exists, having a beloved male figure remind you of your value from a young age can prove invaluable for little girls later on. It certainly did for Meghan McCain.<doc-sep>
The casket is pictured leaving the memorial service of U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) at National Cathedral in Washington, U.S., September 1, 2018. Meghan McCain's apparent criticism of President Donald Trump at the memorial service of her father, Arizona Sen. John McCain, was in line with the late senator's outspoken style, two of his former Senate colleagues and friends told CNN on Sunday. In her emotional speech at Saturday's funeral service — which Trump was not invited to attend — the younger McCain took veiled swipes at the president, blasting him for "cheap rhetoric" on American greatness. She never mentioned the president by name. "The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great," she said, emphasizing her father's vision of how he saw the nation during his service and appropriating the president's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, two of the Arizona Republican's closest allies and friends in the Senate, defended her eulogy in a televised appearance. "She is her father's daughter," Graham told CNN's "State of the Union" in a joint interview with Lieberman. "If you say something bad about her dad, you will know it, whether you're the janitor or the President of the United States. She is grieving for the father she adored. I think most Americans understand that." Lieberman added that he was a "proud uncle" watching McCain's speech at the memorial service. "She was direct ... the way John was," Lieberman said. The senators' defense came after McCain posted a photo of them online, calling them her "uncles forever." Graham, Lieberman and McCain were often referred to as the "three amigos" during their time in the country's top lawmaking body.