What kind of a man picks a fight with a revered and deceased hero of the Vietnam War who was tortured in captivity, and who once was a candidate for president of the United States?
And why is the political party to which both men belong remaining silent while this deceased war hero is again slandered by a man that paid doctors to give him medical deferments so he wouldn't go fight in the Vietnam War?
These are the questions bedeviling president Donald Trump and his Republican Party after the former businessman launched an unwarranted series of personal attacks on the late Arizona Senator John McCain starting last week.
And, as is usual when Trump ignites an indefensible controversy, the Republican Party has kept its silence and refused to upbraid him for it.
Trump kept his unconscionable feud with the late senator alive with withering criticisms delivered during a speech at a tank plant in Lima, Ohio on Wednesday. Instead of talking at length about the resurgence of manufacturing, Trump launched into an unhinged rant against McCain.
McCain died on Aug. 25, 2018 at the age of 81.
Trump told his stunned audience he gave McCain "the funeral he wanted, and I didn't get 'thank you,'" misconstruing the role he played in honoring the senator's death.
He blamed McCain for "a war in the Middle East that McCain pushed so hard." He alleged "McCain didn't get the job done for our great vets" at the Department of Veterans Affairs. And Trump capped off this rant by saying, in effect, he'll hate McCain forever.
"I have to be honest: I've never liked him much," said Trump. "Hasn't been for me. I've really -- probably never will."
Trump's latest attacks on McCain began over the weekend. He started by blasting McCain for his role in giving the FBI a dossier of unverified information about Trump's connections to Russia compiled by a former British spy.
Trump blasted McCain's vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act. He also claimed McCain was "last in his class" at the Naval Academy, when McCain actually graduated fifth from the bottom.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was "never a fan" of McCain, and never would be. And on Wednesday, Trump rehashed all of these reasons in Ohio.
McCain never endorsed Trump's candidacy as president in 2016, and it seems Trump has never forgiven him this slight. McCain also told his family not to invite Trump to his funeral.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Senate majority leader, and Republicans were timid in responding to Trump's latest attacks on one of their own. They chose to emphasize their support for McCain rather than condemning Trump.
On the other hand, McCain's family was furious.
"This is a new bizarre low," said McCain's daughter, Meghan. "I will say attacking someone who isn't here is a bizarre low. My dad's not here, but I'm sure as hell here."
"I think if I had told my dad, 'Seven months after you're dead, you're going to be dominating the news and all over Twitter,' he would think it's hilarious that our president was so jealous of him that he was dominating the news cycle in death as well."
This article was first published in IBTimes US. Permission required for reproduction.
