Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Senator John McCain turns 81 in August 2017
A war hero, a political maverick, and one of President Trump’s fiercest Republican critics – Senator John McCain, 80, has been granted all these titles over the years.
Known in Washington for his doggedness and customary-sense conservatism, he beat off more youthful rivals to secure the Republican party’s nomination for president in 2008.
As a US Military pilot, Mr McCain narrowly escaped dying in July 1967 whilst a missile exploded close to his fuel tanks, sparking a ship fire that left 134 troops dead.
Three months later he was once shot down over Vietnam, where he spent five years as a prisoner of conflict.
The son of a 4-star admiral, he used to be presented early free up as a result of his father’s prominence – but rejected it. As A Substitute, he persisted repeated beatings and torture, including two years in solitary confinement.
Symbol copyright AFP/Getty Photographs Symbol caption John McCain pictured with operating mate Sarah Palin in 2008
Mr McCain hasn’t ever been afraid to undertake a debatable place – particularly considering that Donald Trump’s emergence in politics.
Though he has due to the fact hardened a few of his perspectives, he has previously attracted the ire of social conservatives for his slightly reasonable views on civil unions, abortion and immigration reform.
He was once one among the Iraq war’s strongest supporters, and subsidized the troop building up there referred to as the “surge”.
As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee he has been a vocal – and hawkish – pressure in overseas coverage and military affairs.
While fighting Mr Obama for the White House, Mr McCain stressed out his own revel in in these areas and argued that he may make a much better commander-in-chief.
Concerned through Trump
The Arizona Senator has again and again criticised President Trump’s warming members of the family with Russia, and spent New Year’s Eve 2016 with Ukrainian Marines.
“We stand w/them of their struggle in opposition to #Putin’s aggression,” he tweeted then.
Image copyright Twitter/JohnMcCain
Mr McCain withdrew his give a boost to for Mr Trump – then his birthday party’s presidential nominee – in October 2016, the day after a 2005 recording emerged of him making obscene comments approximately ladies and showing to trivialise sexual assault.
“While Mr Trump assaults girls and demeans the ladies in our nation and in our society, that is a point the place I simply have to part corporate,” he said.
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In July 2017, he advised CBS’s Face the Country that Russian President Vladimir Putin “were given away with” seeking to change the result of the 2016 US presidential election.
Working with Democrats
The Republican elder has repeatedly proven himself keen to work with Democrats or vote against his celebration on ideological grounds, including while he voted to scale back greenhouse gasoline emissions, and towards George W Bush’s tax cuts.
He co-subsidized a bipartisan immigration bill in 2007 which, had it handed, might have offered an amnesty to unlawful immigrants in addition as more difficult border controls.
And he was the writer, with Democrat Senator Russ Feingold, of an important campaign finance reform in 2002 supposed to scale back the affect of money and pressure teams in US elections.
He has criticised President Trump’s refugee travel ban, pronouncing it betrays American values and “in a few spaces, will supply Isis Islamic State a few more propaganda”.
When information broke of the president’s confrontational first phone call with Australia’s Top Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Mr McCain phoned Australia’s US ambassador, Joe Hockey, to express “unwavering toughen” for the countries’ dating.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Senator McCain puts a poppy at the Roll of Honour wall all the way through a visit to the Australian Conflict Memorial in Canberra
In 2017, Mr McCain travelled to struggle-torn Syria to visit US forces deployed there.
He referred to as the Trump administration’s choice not to prioritise finishing the Syrian civil battle “another disgraceful bankruptcy in American history”.
‘No surrender’
As news emerged of his cancer diagnosis, the senator’s administrative center stated he was “in excellent spirits as he continues to get well at house along with his family”.
His family reacted with “shock” to the scoop, his 32-year-old daughter Meghan stated.
“It won’t marvel you to be told that in all of this, the one in all us who is such a lot confident and calm is my father,” she stated on Twitter.
“So he is meeting this problem as he has another. Cancer would possibly afflict him in lots of ways: nevertheless it is not going to make him give up. Not Anything ever has.”
