Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was awarded the 2017 Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday evening. After receiving the honor, which was presented to him by former Vice President Joe Biden, the highly respected war hero went on to give a speech that did not hold back. Although McCain never outright says the name "Donald Trump" in the speech, it's pretty clear who he's referring to when he calls out "half-baked, spurious nationalism" from "people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems."
You can read the full transcript of his remarks.:
"To fear the world we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain "the last best hope of earth" for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history.
"We live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil. We are the custodians of those ideals at home, and their champion abroad. We have done great good in the world. That leadership has had its costs, but we have become incomparably powerful and wealthy as we did. We have a moral obligation to continue in our just cause, and we would bring more than shame on ourselves if we don't. We will not thrive in a world where our leadership and ideals are absent. We wouldn't deserve to."
It's worth noting that earlier in the day Monday, Trump stood before reporters at the White House Rose Garden and baldly lied in claiming that "President Obama and other presidents" had neglected to make phone calls to the grieving families of fallen soldiers — remarks which have since taken a lot of flack. John McCain don't play, y'all.
Here is a video of Senator McCain's speech.
This article is from Uproxx.com, October 16, 2017.
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October 17, 2017
Addendum. Senator McCain himself and two former presidents weighed in too.
