Obama, Bush, Meghan rebuke absent Trump in tribute to fallen senator

WASHINGTON, Sept 02 (Agencies): Former US presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, once rivals of the late Senator John McCain, praised him in eulogies on Saturday and joined his daughter at a memorial service in subtle and not-so-subtle rebukes of President Donald Trump.

Without naming Trump, who did not attend the service, Meghan McCain condemned the president in remarks that at times drew applause and came after she said her dad told her to "show them how tough you are" with her eulogy.

"We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness, the real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly, nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served," she said, speaking forcefully and, at times, through tears.

Taking aim at Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again," she said McCain's America was always great.

For years Trump feuded publicly with McCain and mocked his military service, continuing to knock him even after he grew ill.

The former Republican senator from Arizona died on August 25 from brain cancer, days shy of his 82nd birthday.

Trump, also a Republican, spent Saturday tweeting on other subjects and went to one of his private golf clubs in Virginia.

Nearly every major US political leader attended the memorial service, and while Trump himself was absent, his presence was felt through the content of the tributes.

Meanwhile, sixty per cent of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump's job performance and nearly half support impeachment, according to an opinion poll published on Friday.

Thirty-six per cent of Americans approve of Trump's White House performance, the Washington Post-ABC News poll found.

In the last Post-ABC survey, in April, Trump received an approval rating of 40 per cent and a disapproval rating of 56 per cent.

The latest survey of 1,003 adults was conducted between August 26 and 29, the week when Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty of tax and bank fraud and his attorney, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to making hush payments to women who claimed to have had sexual liaisons with Trump.

Forty-nine per cent of those polled by the Post and ABC News said that Congress should launch impeachment proceedings against Trump, while 46 per cent disagreed.