Donald Trump and John McCain sparred publicly from the beginning of Trump’s campaign for the presidency, which began in June 2015. Here were the highlights
By Ronald J. Hansen | Arizona Republic
When the U.S. Senate convenes in January, Arizona’s two new senators will become jurors in the historic impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
There’s some mystery about how Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema will view the case; Republican Sen. Martha McSally made plain more than a week ago that she’s not inclined to convict Trump.
But perhaps just as tantalizing is a question that will go unanswered for eternity: How would the late Sen. John McCain have voted?
It’s the kind of plotline ready-made for a political cliffhanger.
McCain, a six-term Arizona Republican, was a man whose worldview was forged in the Cold War and whose efforts to promote democracy in Ukraine was a central concern of his final book.
His feud with Trump was so intense that it continued even after McCain’s death in August 2018.
The impeachment case revolves around Trump’s interest in seeing an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden, a friend of McCain who spoke at his Phoenix funeral.
For good measure, remember that McCain voted to convict President Bill Clinton in his 1999 impeachment trial for perjury and obstruction of justice. And the self-styled maverick had an unpredictable streak that could keep even his closest friends guessing.
Would McCain eagerly convict Trump? Or give the Democratic-only impeachment case the thumb’s down?
