Trump calls McCain a hero ahead of senator’s return to DC

PHOENIX — President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was a hero as the latter prepared to return to work following a brain cancer diagnosis.

So great that John McCain is coming back to vote. Brave – American hero! Thank you John.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017

The senator’s office said Monday he would be back in the Senate to work on several topics, including health care reform, defense and sanctions against several nations.

McCain was diagnosed with brain cancer last week following the surgical removal of a 2-inch blood clot in his skull.

Trump’s tweet was the second time since the diagnosis that the president complimented one of his most vocal critics in D.C.

“Sen. John McCain has always been a fighter,” a White House statement sent the day of the diagnosis read. “Melania and I send our thoughts and prayers to Sen. McCain, Cindy, and their entire family. Get well soon.”

Both compliments marked a 180-degree turn for Trump, who had disparaged the senator in the past.

In 2015, then-Republican presidential candidate Trump said McCain — who was a prisoner of war for years after his plane was shot down during the Vietnam War — was not a war hero.

“I like people who weren’t captured,” Trump said.

Though he later apologized for the remark, it began a long battle of words between the pair. Earlier this year, the senator said Trump’s scandals are of a “Watergate size and scale.”

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