John McCain’s eviscerating final message to Donald Trump

John McCain’s final message include an implicit attack on Donald Trump with a plea for Americans not to ‘despair of present difficulties’ | WATCH

Rick Davis, spokesperson John McCain’s family reads his final letter to the American people. Picture: AFP.

In his final public words to America, John McCain has both expressed his love of his country and launched an implicit attack on Donald Trump

In a statement read by his family spokesman yesterday the Arizona senator pleaded with Americans to overcome their divisions and not to “despair of our present difficulties.”

In a message that was clearly aimed at Mr Trump, who is refusing to honour his death, Senator McCain declared from beyond the grave: “We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of globe.

"We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.”

He concluded: “We have always had so much more in common with one another than in disagreement."

The Senator, who died on Saturday from an aggressive form of brain cancer, thanked voters for allowing him to serve six terms in the Senate and evinced his unshakeable patriotism. “We are citizens of the world’s greatest Republic; a nation of ideals, not blood and soil,” his statement said.

He added: “I lived and died a proud American."

The American flag flies at half-mast at the Capitol in honour of John McCain. Picture: AP.

Mr McCain’s death from has been met with tributes from across the political spectrum, with colleagues hailing the former soldier as a statesman who brought steely resolve to the job. Mr Trump refused to comment yesterday on the passing of one of his fiercest critics, remaining silent when asked about it during an Oval Office appearance. He had previously derided Mr McCain’s service in the Vietnam War, during which he was held as a prisoner of war for five years. Yesterday flags flown over the White House were rehoisted, just 24 hours after being flown at half mast rather than until the senator had been interred, as is traditional. However this morning (AEST) Mr Trump bowed to pressure and re-lowered the flags.

The American Legion had decried the decision and urged the president to make “an appropriate presidential proclamation noting Senator McCain’s death and legacy of service to our nation”.

US Senator John McCain, left, and US President Donald Trump. Picture: AFP

Mr McCain will lie in state at the US Capitol on Friday, but it is not known whether Mr Trump will make an appearance. He will not attend Mr McCain’s funeral on Sunday, where George W Bush and Barack Obama — both former rivals to Mr McCain — will deliver eulogies. With Mr McCain’s death Arizona has become the political centre of the country before the midterm elections. The Senate seat left vacant by his passing will be filled by another Republican through an appointment by Doug Ducey, Arizona’s governor. The other senate seat is being contested in November due to the retirement of Arizona’s junior senator, Jeff Flake. A primary contest for the Republican nomination later today pits Kelli Ward, an early supporter of Mr Trump, against Martha McSally, a candidate preferred by the establishment. Joe Arpaio, a sheriff known for being tough on immigration and pardoned by Mr Trump for contempt of court, is also running. The winner will probably face the Democrat Kyrsten Sinema in November, for a senate term that ends in six years. With a one-vote majority in the Senate, the loss of the Republican seat could turn control of the chamber to the Democrats.

The Times