In August of this year, Senator John McCain died at the age of 81 following a battle with deadly form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. The two-time presidential candidate's passing attracted huge waves of sympathy and mourning from both Republicans and Democrats alike, and his funeral was attended by prominent politicians from both major parties.
However, there was one very prominent figure missing from the service: President Donald Trump.
McCain and Trump had famously butted heads in recent years, and - despite being members of the same party - Trump said some very disparaging things about the senator in his time. Most notably, the former businessman once claimed that McCain, who suffered for more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was "not a war hero".
"He's not a war hero," Trump said in 2015. "He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured."
Understandably, this irked a lot of people - not least of all Cindy McCain, John's wife.
In a recent interview with the BBC, Cindy said that she was "hurt" by Trump's statement that her late husband was not a war hero, and divulged her opinions on voting for Trump in 2020.
"I thought it was inappropriate and wrong - I really did," she said. "It hurt the family, too. And it hurt the other men that served with John, that were in prison as well. It wasn't just about John. It was all the other people.
"I don't feel like I'll ever get over it to be honest."
Cindy explained why the decision was made to ban Trump from the funeral: "Even though it was a very public funeral, we were still a family, and for all of us - for the sake of our children - I didn't want any disruption ... It was important that we kept it respectful and calm."
When asked whether she would give the president her support in the next elections, Cindy said, "I don't even know if he's going to run."
If he were to run, though, Cindy remained stoic and said she could not say whether or not she would vote for him. However, she did appear to be critical of the current administration.
"At this point, I'd like to see some softening of the rhetoric," she said. "It's hurtful."
Indeed, Trump's leadership has seen a particularly harsh government over the past few years, and it's hardly surprising to see lifelong Republicans such as the McCains turn their backs on the president.
At present, Trump only has a 43 per cent approval rating overall, and his approval from Republicans has dipped as low as 71 per cent in the past. His comments about John McCain - a revered and respected politician by most accounts - almost certainly contributed to some Republicans' distaste in Trump, and his actions since the initial "war hero" statement have only distanced him from his party further.
Cindy McCain says she'll never get over Trump's treatment of her husband, and it's likely than many other people won't, either.
