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This week, legions of friends, family and political leaders will say their final goodbyes at Sen. John McCain’s memorial service Saturday at the National Cathedral.
And among those in attendance will be President Barack Obama who, to the surprise of many, has been tapped deliver a eulogy.
It was no secret that the two men were on opposite ends of the political spectrum given McCain spent much of Obama’s eight years in office blocking much of the president’s agenda—with perhaps the most damaging blow coming with his refusal to support a hearing for Merrick Garland’s supreme court nomination.
So what’s with the eulogy request?
According to CNN, Barack Obama received a call by an ailing McCain back in April to deliver the eulogy of his once rival to become America’s 44th president.
—5 reasons why Obama could legit get out of eulogizing John McCain and we wouldn’t even be mad—
CNN says the two men developed a mutual respect for one another—something the current President is too petty to do with either man.
—How to watch Aretha Franklin’s star-studded funeral service live online and on television—
George W. Bush, the 43rd President has also received an invite to the memorial to deliver a eulogy right after the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” anthem is sung.
Extending the invitations to the last two Presidents is also a slap in the face to the current Oval office attendant who did not receive an invite to the services.
Trump infamously proclaimed that McCain, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, was not a hero because he was captured and imprisoned by members of the North Vietnamese Army.
The comment sparked widespread condemnation, including from other Republicans, and led McCain, among other reasons, to banish Trump from attending his funeral.
Barack Obama tweeted a statement Saturday that acknowledged their political differences and praised their common ground, saying, “But we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher—the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed.”
McCain’s choice to ask both Obama and Bush to eulogize is strategic and possibly a message to show that unity is key in order to get this country back on track.