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Meghan McCain, Obama knock Trump at John McCain’s funeral …

Meghan McCain and President Barack Obama took apparent swipes at President Trump on Saturday in a eulogy for John McCain -- who sparred with Trump on a number of occasions before his death last week of brain cancer.

"The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great,' McCain's daughter said, in what appeared to be a reference to Trump's presidential campaign slogan: "Make America Great Again."

The remarks were made during a funeral service at Washington National Cathedral for the Arizona Republican, who died last week of brain cancer.

Obama's jabs were more subtle but still appeared to be directed at the current occupant of the White House. He derided those in politics who traffic in "bombast and insult and phony controversies and manufactured outrage."

He also attacked "a politics that pretends to be brave and tough but in fact is born of fear."

"John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that, he said.

It was Meghan McCain who had the most searing swipes at the president however. Notably she said that her father's passing represented the passing of "American greatness. 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 while he suffered and served."

Former presidents will be among those paying tribute to John McCain.(AP)

Former President George W. Bush also paid tribute to McCain.

"John as he was the first to tell you was not a perfect man. But he dedicated his life to national ideals that are as perfect as men and women have yet conceived," he said. "He was motivated by a vision of America carried ever forward, ever upward, on the strength of its principles."

The funeral service notably did not feature President Trump, who had feuded with McCain, particularly during the presidential campaign. In 2015, after McCain had said Trump's platform had "fired up the crazies," Trump had mocked McCain's imprisonment in the Vietnam War, saying: "I like people that weren't captured." Trump has also fumed about McCain's vote last year to kill off a bill to reform ObamaCare.

Both Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner were in attendance. Trump, meanwhile, went to the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia. He also tweeted about subjects including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Russian investigation.

A six-term senator and a Vietnam veteran who was held as a prisoner of war for more than five years, McCain pushed for bipartisanship on the Hill. He ran against Bush for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. He clinched the nomination in 2008 but was defeated in the presidential election by Obama.

FAREWELL STATEMENT FROM JOHN MCCAIN

Other notable speakers included former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman.

"His death seems to have reminded the American people that these values are what makes us a great nation, not the tribal partisanship and personal attack politics that have recently characterized our life, " Lieberman, who McCain considered for his vice-presidential nominee, said.

McCains pallbearers included actor Warren Beatty and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Earlier Saturday, his casket traveled to the cathedral after stopping at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where McCains wife Cindy laid a wreath. Defense Secretary James Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly accompanied her.

On Friday colleagues, family and friends paid tribute to his service both in the military and the Congress as he lay in state underneath the Capitol rotunda.

JOHN MCCAIN HONORED AT US CAPITOL, LAWMAKERS PAY TRIBUTE TO 'GENERATIONAL LEADER'

With members of McCains family in attendance, Vice President Mike Pence said Americans marveled at the iron will of John McCain and praised him for holding fast to his faith in America through six decades of service.

Generations of Americans will continue to marvel at the man who lies before us, the cocky, handsome naval aviator who barely scraped through school, and then fought for freedom in the skies; who witnessed to our highest values, even through terrible torture; and who became a generational leader in the United States Senate, where our nation airs its great debates, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.

Tributes have poured in from both sides of the aisle for the Republican senator and 2008 presidential nominee. On Thursday, former Vice President Joe Biden remembered McCain as a brother, and said the two were cockeyed optimists in a memorial service for McCain at a church in Phoenix.

Biden, a Democrat, declared that McCains legacy is going to continue to inspire generations.

McCain is to be buried Sunday at his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy, next to his best friend from the Class of 1958, Adm. Chuck Larson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a reporter covering U.S. and European politics for Fox News.. He can be reached here.

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Meghan McCain, Obama knock Trump at John McCain's funeral ...

Barack Obama’s Eulogy for John McCain

John understood, as JFK understood, as Ronald Reagan understood, that part of what makes our country great is that our membership is based not on our bloodline, not on what we look like, what our last names are, its not based on where our parents or grandparents came from, or how recently they arrived, but on adherence to a common creed: that all of us are created equal, endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. It has been mentioned today, and weve seen footage this week John pushing back against supporters who challenged my patriotism during the 2008 campaign. I was grateful, but I wasn't surprised. As Joe Lieberman said, that was John's instinct. I never saw John treat anyone differently because of their race or religion or gender. And Im certain that in those moments that have been referred to during the campaign, he saw himself as defending America's character, not just mine. For he considered it the imperative of every citizen who loves this country to treat all people fairly.

And finally, while John and I disagreed on all kinds of foreign-policy issues, we stood together on America's role as the one indispensible nation, believing that with great power and great blessings comes great responsibility. That burden is borne most heavily by our men and women in uniform, service members like Doug, Jimmy, and Jack who followed their father's footsteps, as well as the families who serve alongside our troops. But John understood that our security and our influence was won not just by our military might, not just by our wealth, not just by our ability to bend others to our will, but from our capacity to inspire others with our adherence to a set of universal values, like rule of law and human rights, and an insistence on the God-given dignity of every human being.

John McCains final letter to America

Of course, John was the first to tell us that he was not perfect. Like all of us who go into public service, he did have an ego. Like all of us, there was no doubt some votes he cast, some compromises he struck, some decisions he made that he wished he could have back. Its no secretits been mentionedthat he had a temper, and when it flared up, it was a force of nature, a wonder to behold. His jaw grinding, his face reddening, his eyes boring a hole right through younot that I ever experienced it firsthand, mind you. But to know John was to know that as quick as his passions might flare, he was just as quick to forgive and ask for forgiveness. He knew more than most his own flaws, and his blind spots, and he knew how to laugh at himself. And that self-awareness made him all the more compelling.

We didn't advertise it, but every so often over the course of my presidency, John would come over to the White House and we'd just sit and talk in the Oval Office, just the two of us. And wed talk about policy and we'd talk about family and we'd talk about the state of our politics. And our disagreements didn't go away during these private conversations. Those were real and they were often deep. But we enjoyed the time we shared away from the bright lights. And we laughed with each other. And we learned from each other. And we never doubted the other man's sincerity or the other mans patriotism, or that when all was said and done, we were on the same team. We never doubted we were on the same team. For all of our differences, we shared a fidelity to the ideals for which generations of Americans have marched and fought and sacrificed and given their lives. We considered our political battles a privilege, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those ideals here at home and to do our best to advance them around the world. We saw this country as a place where anything is possible, and citizenship is an obligation to ensure it forever remains that way.

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Barack Obama's Eulogy for John McCain

Obama, Meghan McCain rebuke absent Trump in tribute to fallen …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, once rivals of the late Senator John McCain, praised him in eulogies on Saturday and joined his daughter at a memorial service in subtle and not-so-subtle rebukes of President Donald Trump.

Without naming Trump, who did not attend the service, Meghan McCain condemned the president in remarks that at times drew applause and came after she said her dad told her to show them how tough you are with her eulogy.

We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness, 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 live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served, she said, speaking forcefully and, at times, through tears.

Taking aim at Trumps campaign slogan, Make America Great Again, she said McCains America was always great.

For years Trump feuded publicly with McCain and mocked his military service, continuing to knock him even after he grew ill. The former Republican senator from Arizona died on Aug. 25 from brain cancer, days shy of his 82nd birthday.

Trump, also a Republican, spent Saturday tweeting on other subjects and went to one of his private golf clubs in Virginia.

Nearly every major U.S. political leader attended the memorial service, and while Trump himself was absent, his presence was felt through the content of the tributes.

And by design, McCain asked Obama and Bush to deliver eulogies while the family made clear that Trump was not welcome.

Obama, who beat McCain in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, hailed the one-time prisoner of war for his commitment to truth and core democratic values, qualities that some critics see lacking in Trump, a former reality television star and New York City real estate mogul.

So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty, trafficking in bombast and insult, and phony controversies, and manufactured outrage, Obama said. Its a politics that pretends to be brave and tough, but in fact is born in fear. John called on us to be bigger than that. He called on us to be better than that.

Obama also noted McCains support for a free press. Trump has repeatedly called the media the enemy of the American people.

HE COULD NOT ABIDE BIGOTS AND SWAGGERING DESPOTS

Bush, in his eulogy, described McCain as a man with a code.

He loved freedom with a passion of a man who knew its absence. He respected the dignity inherent in every life, a dignity that does not stop at borders and cannot be erased by dictators, Bush said. Perhaps above all, John detested the abuse of power. He could not abide bigots and swaggering despots.

Trump has sought to forge close relationships with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The former U.S. presidents joked about McCains imperfections, while saying he made them better leaders. Their presence as eulogists was a clear signal from McCain of his desire for more civility and bipartisanship in Washington.

The senators body, which had lain in state at the U.S. Capitol, arrived at the cathedral with a motorcade that first stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There his wife, Cindy McCain, laid a wreath to honor those who died in the war.

Uniformed members of the military slowly carried the coffin into the soaring cathedral and back out again after the 2-1/2 hour service.

Top members of Trumps administration, including his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, attended, as did White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security adviser John Bolton.

Other guests included former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, comedian Jay Leno, and former senators Bob Dole and John Kerry.

A powerful pipe organ and Navy brass ensemble played during the service and renowned opera singer Renee Fleming sang a stirring rendition of Danny Boy, drawing tears from Cindy McCain and others in the audience.

John McCain was a leading voice for revamping the countrys immigration, campaign finance and environmental laws. But it was his military service, punctuated by years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, that molded his political life.

Rising to the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy, he was shot down over Hanoi while on a bombing mission in 1967. Held as a prisoner until 1973, he was tortured by his North Vietnamese captors in a jail that Americans dubbed the Hanoi Hilton.

As a presidential candidate, Trump mocked McCain for getting captured in Vietnam. Trump himself received five deferments that got him out of serving in the military.

On Sunday McCain will be buried during a private service in Annapolis, Maryland, at the U.S. Naval Academy. McCain was a member of the Academys Class of 1958.

Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Chizu Nomiyama

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Obama, Meghan McCain rebuke absent Trump in tribute to fallen ...

John McCain funeral: Obama and Bush deliver eulogies (live …

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Barack Obama and George W. Bush, the two men who kept John McCain from the presidency, will eulogize the senator at the National Cathedral memorial service.

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USA TODAY Published 6:48 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2018 | Updated 9:17 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2018

In this file photo taken on September 5, 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain pauses while addressing a campaign event at the Freedom Hill Ampitheatre in Sterling Heights, Michigan.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

"Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage that he did," former President Barack Obama said in astatement upon the news of Senator John McCain's passing. "But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. At John's best, he showed us what that means. And for that, we are all in his debt."

Obama will join former President George W. Bush in eulogizing the man that they both bested to become presidentof the United States.

McCain'smemorial service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. will begin at 10 a.m. ET Saturday.

Prior to the service, a procession will take place to carry Senator McCain from the United States Capitol Building, where he lay in state on Friday. His widowCindy McCain will lead the procession to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, where a wreath will be laid in her husband's honor, before proceeding to the National Cathedral for the memorial service.

USA TODAY isproviding extendedcoverage of McCain's memorial events, including Saturday'sservice atthe National Cathedral.You can watch itlive in the player above starting at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Senator John McCain devoted his life to serving our country. USA TODAY

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John McCain funeral: Obama and Bush deliver eulogies (live ...

McCain requested Obama and George W. Bush deliver eulogies at …

Last Updated Aug 27, 2018 12:49 AM EDT

John McCain requested that former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush deliver eulogies at his funeral, CBS News has confirmed. McCain, who had been suffering from an aggressive form of brain cancer, died Saturday at the age of 81 at home in Arizona. Both Mr. Obama and Mr. Bush will deliver their remarks during a service at the National Cathedral.

Former Vice President Joe Biden will speak at a separate service honoring the senator in Arizona.

McCain had long feuded with President Trump and, according to The Associated Press, two White House officials said McCain's family had asked, before the senator's death, that Mr. Trump not attend the funeral services. Vice President Pence is likely to attend, said the officials, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The New York Times says, "Mr. McCain quietly declared before his death that he did not want Mr. Trump to take part in his funeral."

According to Gov. Doug Ducey, McCain will lie in state at the Arizona Capitol on Wednesday, his birthday, before his body will be brought to Washington to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol.

The senator asked that he be buried at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, near the grave of a long time friend, something he told Lesley Stahl on "60 Minutes" in September 2017.

"I want, when I leave, that the ceremony is at the Naval Academy. And we just have a couple of people that stand up and say, 'This guy, he served his country,'" McCain said.

Mr. Obama, who defeated McCain in 2008 presidential race, issued a statement shortly after McCain's death saying that "we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed."

"Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage that he did," Mr. Obama continued. "But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. At John's best, he showed us what that means. And for that, we are all in his debt."

Mr. Bush, who defeated McCain for the GOP nomination in 2000, issued a statement hailing McCain as a "a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order."

"Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended," Mr. Bush said. "Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled."

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