President Donald Trump was not invited to the funeral of former Senator John McCain, who died due to a year-long battle with brain cancer. President Trump was not invited per request of McCain himself. Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late American politician, mentioned the  POTUS during her eulogy at Washington National Cathedral. At her father’s ceremony, McCain talked about the America of her father, noting that the country did not have to “boast” about its achievements, is “strong”, and “meets her responsibilities.” McCain also used the well-known slogan of Donald Trump by saying, “The America of John McCain has no need to be great again because America was always great.”

Trump took to Twitter as the tie-back of the slogan in McCain’s eulogy spread, catching his attention, tweeting, “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” following the funeral. The President’s allies in the White House felt it was too little of a response, for such a blatant sign of disrespect. Despite Trump’s absence at the funeral, his daughter Ivanka Trump arrived at the cathedral with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama arrived along George W. Bush and Laura Bush later that day, both former presidents delivered a speech on McCain’s behalf.

This is not the first time the President has been excluded from the invite list. Trump was also prohibited from attending the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Though it was already reported that no major political figures were to attend the wedding besides close friends and family, former POTUS Barack Obama was rumored to be invited but did not come. In addition, though the Met Gala is one of society’s most prestigious events,  Trump was not invited during the 2017-2018 year. Trump’s attendance had been perfect for the past decades; however, even though he had proposed to his present wife, Melania Trump, at the Met Gala in 2004 and was a frequent attendee, Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor-in-chief has announced that Trump is no longer welcome to attend the event. Wintour has been vocal about Trump’s status in power and has voiced her disapproval for the president.

It is not usual for current President’s to not attend events like these, but many question if it is beneficial to the country if the President focuses on more political issues rather than focus on ceremonial events or will the lack of participation from the POTUS cause unnecessary conflict.