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PresidentDonald Trumpmay not be among those paying their respects at Sen.John McCain‘sfuneral, but his wife still could be.
Responding to speculation about whetherMelania Trumpwill attend the funeral without her husband, a White House spokesperson for the first lady tells PEOPLE, “We have made no announcements, so any reports you are seeing did not come from our office.”
In its morning news reports about Sen. McCain, CNN broadcasted a headline graphic saying that Mrs. Trump will not attend the funeral services. Questions about whether the first lady would be among the mourners honoring Sen. McCain started afterThe New York Timesreported that initial plans indicated that “Vice President Mike Pence was to attend, but not President Trump,” who haspublicly disparagedSen. McCain on numerous occasions.
“Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathy to the McCain Family,” Mrs. Trump, 48, tweeted after Sen. McCaindied of brain cancerat the age of 81 on Saturday. “Thank you Senator McCain for your service to the nation.”
In April, Mrs. Trumptraveled to Houston for the funeralof former first ladyBarbara Bush, which Mr. Trump did not attend.
Sen. McCain “will be laid to rest at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland,” according to hisofficial website, which notes the funeral schedule will be announced at a later time.
Before his death, Sen. McCain asked that former presidentsBarack ObamaandGeorge W. Bushspeak at his funeral, and Obama and Bush have already been requested to offer eulogies. Meanwhile, former Vice PresidentJoe Bidenwill speak at an Arizona service in Sen. McCain’s honor.
Sen. McCain will lie in state in the Arizona Capitol and Capitol Rotunda — only the 13th time a senator has done so, theTimesreported.
RELATED VIDEO: Senator John McCain Dies at Age 81
The burial location is expected to be near his classmate and lifelong friend, Chuck Larson, theArizona Republicreported.
On Friday, his family announced that McCain, “with his usual strength of will,” decided tostop treatment for the stage-four brain cancerhe had been battling since its diagnosis last summer.
In July 2017, McCain revealed that he had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, just days after he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot above his eye.
source: people.com
