麦凯恩的女儿梅根（Meghan McCain）在葬礼上发表讲话，她含泪赞美父亲是光明灿烂的火炬，有些人对他的光亮反感，是因他让这些人的品格无所遁形。梅根说，父亲受苦与为国服务时，有些人正过著舒适与特权生活。
梅根说：“麦凯恩将美国定义为一个慷慨大方、热情好客、谦虚强大的美国并且已经很伟大了。麦凯恩的美国不需要再次伟大，因为美国一直很伟大。”
“让美国再次伟大”是特朗普（Donald Trump）的最具标志性的口号。梅根这番话虽未指名道姓，不过CNN报导，梅根是对白宫所发表言词的谴责。
Washington （CNN）Meghan McCain on Saturday presented the legacy of her father， John McCain， as a sharp contrast to the conduct of President Donald Trump， with whom the late senator bitterly feuded.
前总统小布什发表致悼词称，他和麦凯恩的对立，随着两人友谊的建立而“烟消云散”。
小布什说：“过程中，两人的对立烟消云散。最后，我获得了此生最大的礼物之一，与麦凯恩的友谊。我将怀念那段时光。”
“在过去，他可能会让我感到沮丧。我知道他也会对我说同样的话。但他也让我变得更好。”小布什说道。
麦凯恩与小布什是美国2000年大选共和党初选的对手。小布什说，两人曾像足球员回忆当年的大赛般，聊起2000年大选的紧张时日。
President George W. Bush said whatever rivalry he had with Sen. John McCain "melted away" as they forged a friendship.
"Back in the day， he could frustrate me. And I know he'd say the same thing about me. But he also made me better，" Bush said delivering the eulogy for his former 2000 Republican primary rival.
Bush recalled how he and McCain spoke of that "intense period like football players， remembering a big game."
"In the process rivalry melted away，" Bush told the crowd of mourners gathered at the National Cathedral. "In the end， I got to enjoy one of life's great gifts， the friendship of John McCain. And I'll miss it."
"John was above all a man with a code. He lived by a set of public virtues that brought strength and purpose to his life and to his country，" Bush said， adding that McCain was "honest no matter whom it offended.
"Presidents were not spared. He was honorable. Always recognizing that his opponents were still patriots and human beings."
在2008年总统大选中击败麦凯恩的前总统奥巴马表示，他和小布什总统“是在最高政治层面与麦凯恩竞争的少数幸运儿之一”，“他让我们变得更好，正如他让参议院变得更好，让美国变得更好一样”。
在谈到麦凯恩请他在葬礼仪式上发言的那一天，奥巴马说“这是一种珍贵而独特的荣誉”，当麦凯恩开口那一刻，“我承认我很意外并很悲伤”。
在没有提到特朗普名字的情况下，奥巴马说“这种政治行为假装是勇敢和强壮，但其实是出于惧怕。”
布什和奥巴马都是在麦凯恩接受癌症治疗的过程中就受到邀请参加追悼会。
麦凯恩曾经在2000年共和党总统候选人竞争中输给了小布什，2008年作为共和党总统候选人在大选中输给了奥巴马。
President Obama， who defeated Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential election， said he and President Bush were "among the fortunate few who competed against John at the highest levels of politics" and said， like Bush， that McCain made him better.
Speaking of the day McCain asked he speak at his memorial， Obama said it was "a precious and singular honor" and that when McCain called with the request， "I'll admit sadness and also a certain surprise."
But Obama also realized how well it captured some of John's essential qualities: Unpredictability. Contrarianism. Non-conformity.
"It also showed John's disdain for self-pity. He had been to hell and back and yet somehow never lost his energy or his optimism or his zest for life，" Obama said.
Sen. Joe Lieberman， John McCain's longtime friend who was nearly a former running mate， said speaking today was one of the greatest honors of his life.
He spoke of hearing McCain tell people that there was a "special satisfaction that comes from serving a cause greater than yourself，" and that it was a creed he lived by.
"The greater cause to which he devoted his life was America， not so much the country defined by its borders， but the America of our founding values， freedom， human rights， opportunity， democracy， and equal justice under law，" Lieberman said.
"In John's life， he nobly served and advanced these American values， and remarkably his death seems to have reminded the American people that these values are what make us a great nation，" he added. "Not the tribal partisanship， personal attack politics that have recently characterized our life."
The week of memorials celebrating McCain's life， Lieberman said， has lifted the country "above all that."
特朗普没受邀 干脆去新州打高尔夫球
按照麦凯恩生前遗愿，特朗普不出席星期六的葬礼仪式。不过特朗普的女儿伊万卡（Ivanka Trump）夫妇受邀参加。
据CNN报道，在麦凯恩追悼仪式举行的同时，特朗普正在维吉尼亚州一个高尔夫球场忙着自己的周末假期，并且一直在推特上谈论一些无关紧要的话题。
彭斯成为在场最高级的白宫官员
彭斯（Mike Pence）致词时赞扬麦凯恩一生为国服务，又称自己是应特朗普要求，代为出席致意。 当他提到“特朗普昨日曾表示，我们尊敬他（麦凯恩）对国家的贡献”时，麦凯恩女儿梅根·麦凯恩“斜眼”望向彭斯。