Friday is President Donald Trump’s birthday, but thousands of Twitter users have been focusing on making June 14 known for something else, at least temporarily. In honor of the president’s history of ill will and negative comments regarding deceased Arizona senator John McCain, a number of left-leaning social media users are banding together to get the hashtag #JohnMcCainDay trending. As of Friday morning, it looks as though they have succeeded.
At the time of writing, the #JohnMcCainDay hashtag has generated nearly 90,000 tweets and has become a top placeholder on the United States trends list on Twitter. According to Newsweek, the idea originated with Andy Lassner. Andy, who happens to be the executive producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, has never been shy about sharing his thoughts regarding the Trump presidency.
It looks as if some of Lassner’s 377,000 followers eagerly supported his idea about getting the hashtag trending across Twitter. It only took about four hours for #JohnMcCainDay, along with a handful of variations, to take the top spot on the trending list. Many of the Twitter users who joined in posted the hashtag, or included quotes about — or from — the Arizona senator.
There were a few posts that shared negative sentiments about McCain, but the bulk of the tweets were in the spirit of the trend Lassner had initiated.
Honoring an American hero today.
— andy lassner (@andylassner) June 14, 2019
Let’s celebrate @realDonaldTrump’s birthday today by having #JohnMcCainDay trend.
I’m sure this would mean a lot to patriot like Donald Trump. #JohnMcCainDay
“Even if I didn’t agree with all of his politics, there is no denying that he was an American hero & a true patriot. We clearly saw him handle his successes & failures with grace. We should name more military things after him #JohnMcCainDay,” one Twitter user wrote.
#JohnMcCainDay
— Boyd says ???????? Hi there! (@BoydADavis1) June 14, 2019
So much better to honor a decorated war veteran and true American hero than that orange doofus in The WH, who's a 21st-century Benedict Arnold.
McCain Forever... pic.twitter.com/HoxUGZ2YoP
Many of the tweets focused on McCain and his military service. However, there were plenty who added either the president’s Twitter handle or referenced Trump in their posts.
“John War Hero And American Patriot. Donald Trump Five Time Drafty Dodger And Traitor. #JohnMcCainDay”
“Its [sic] 6/14 & we’re celebrating someone who is a national hero & not a treasonous traitor. I also heard had lovely feet, no bone spurs. Happy John McCain Day #JohnMcCainDay #ArmyBDay #ArmyBirthday #Flag Day #NationalFlagDay #fridaythoughts Early Happy Birthday Mr. President Obama.”
McCain on free press:
— my cat & i are pro-choice (@non_fele) June 14, 2019
“If you want to preserve Democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started” #JohnMcCainDay pic.twitter.com/1hUWxb3QT9
For everyone who still has health insurance coverage for a pre-existing condition, despite @realDonaldTrump's best efforts to leave you bankrupted or dead, I wish you a very happy #JohnMcCainDay. pic.twitter.com/9myxMf1faA
— Michi (@cbn2) June 14, 2019
Despite the fact that John McCain died last August, President Trump has continued to reference him negatively in recent remarks. As such, some left-leaning Twitter users were happy to take up Lassner’s challenge to nickname Trump’s birthday as #JohnMcCainDay.
It’s not known yet whether the president has noticed this, or will remark on it, but it looks as if it’s a trend that is still gaining steam — and one which will generate a fair amount of buzz throughout the day.