In the days since Donald Trump inexplicably renewed his attacks on the late Sen. John McCain, the response from Senate Republicans has been—at best—tepid. But hey, who can blame them? It’s not like McCain was held up by them for nearly 50 years as a war hero. Oh, wait—that happened. Well, at least most of them didn’t serve side by side with him in Congress for almost 40 years. Oh, wait—that happened too. Okay, but to be fair, they didn’t all line up to glowingly eulogize him following his death, claiming friendship and deep respect. Strike three.
But it turns out these Senate Republicans have a very good reason for ignoring the insulting slurs that Trump has been lobbing against McCain for nearly a week. Because while they’re “uncomfortable” with Trump’s attacks, they’re feeling “boxed in.” After all, many of them are up for re-election this fall. Like Lindsey Graham, who “is keenly aware that if he blows up his relationship by criticizing [Trump] too hard, he could lose the Oval Office access he currently enjoys.” Graham, as you may recall, was John McCain’s best friend. Or Sens. Cory Gardner and Thom Tillis, who boldly “didn't respond to repeated requests for comment.”
There was one senator’s aide who bravely offered an anonymous explanation for standing silently by, saying the “dilemma” was whether one should risk drawing Trump’s “wrath” or ...
… let the news cycle pass without their fingerprints? This senator decided to stay mum after determining it was not worth inflaming GOP voters at home.
And this was probably the right choice for these cowards. After all, the media will move on and ignore this in a day or two, as they do on every outrage by Trump and the enabling silence from his fellow Republicans. Lather, rinse, repeat.