Sen. John McCain’s 2008 running mate Sarah Palin and other members of the Arizona Republican’s failed 2008 presidential campaign were not invited to his funeral or other memorial services, according to multiple media reports.
The former Alaska governor, campaign manager Steve Schmidt, adviser Nicolle Wallace and strategist John Weaver were all left off the guest lists for any of McCain’s memorial services, Politico reported, citing three unnamed sources.
CNN and NBC News both reported that a source close to the Palin family said, “Out of respect for Sen. McCain and his family we have nothing to add at this point. The Palin family will always cherish their friendship with the McCains and hold those memories dear.”
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“John McCain was my friend,” Palin tweeted Saturday after McCain died from brain cancer. “I will remember the good times. My family and I send prayers for Cindy and the McCain family.”
In another tweet Saturday, Palin said, “Today we lost an original. Sen. John McCain was a maverick and a fighter, never afraid to stand for his beliefs.”
In McCain’s memoir, “The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations,” which published in May, he said he wished he had picked Democrat-turned-independent Joe Lieberman as his running mate instead of Palin.
Palin told the Daily Mail that hearing reports of that excerpt was like a “gut punch,” although she said she attributed it to “ghostwriters.”
Politico reported that McCain became angry with Schmidt for his criticism of the decision to select Palin, even though Schmidt had been one of the advisers advocating her for the VP slot.
Schmidt and Wallace cooperated with the authors of the 2009 book “Game Change” (which was made into and HBO movie), which painted Palin in a very unflattering light.
Weaver, the man behind McCain’s “Straight Talk Express,” left the campaign in 2007 when McCain’s primary run appeared doomed.
The move not to invite Palin did not sit well with some conservatives.
“I don’t get that,” said “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade Thursday. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“If she’s good enough to be VP, she’s good enough to be at the funeral,” one former aide told Politico.
A memorial service for McCain was held Thursday in Phoenix before his body was flown to Washington, D.C. He will lie in state in the Capitol on Friday and a funeral service will be held at the National Cathedral on Saturday. He will be buried Sunday at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
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