Tributes from former US presidents and across the political spectrum have poured in for Republican Senator John McCain, who has died aged 81.
Barack Obama, who beat him to the White House in 2008, said they had shared a “fidelity to something higher”.
George W Bush described him as “a patriot of the highest order”.
President Donald Trump, whom McCain had strongly criticised, tweeted his “deepest sympathies” to McCain’s family but did not comment on his life.
My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2018
By contrast, First Lady Melania Trump thanked the late senator for his “service to the nation”.
Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathy to the McCain Family. Thank you Senator McCain for your service to the nation.
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) August 26, 2018
Sources quoted by US media said Mr. Trump will not be invited to the funeral however, the current administration would probably be represented by Vice President Mike Pence.
Former Presidents Obama and George W Bush are expected to give eulogies.
McCain was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour in July last year and had been undergoing treatment.
But on Friday his family announced he had decided to discontinue that treatment.
A statement from his office on Saturday said McCain had died in Arizona surrounded by family members.
His family said he would lie in state in Phoenix, Arizona, and in Washington DC before a funeral at the Washington National Cathedral and his burial in Annapolis, Maryland.
“He was a public servant in the finest traditions of our country,” Mr Bush said. “And to me, he was a friend whom I’ll deeply miss.”
“Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended. Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled. John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order.” […] Full statement by President George W. Bush https://t.co/FQVYWIUyGL pic.twitter.com/W8LCxJXRLi
— George W. Bush Presidential Center (@TheBushCenter) August 26, 2018
Mr. Obama said that despite being his Democratic rival, they had shared the ideals “for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched and sacrificed”.
Sarah Palin, who was McCain’s running mate during his 2008 presidential bid, said the world had lost “an American original”.
John McCain was my friend. I will remember the good times. My family and I send prayers for Cindy and the McCain family.
– Sarah Palin and family pic.twitter.com/KRvcIQ99cA— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) August 26, 2018
From outside the US, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed McCain as “a great American patriot” whose “support for Israel never wavered.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said McCain’s lifetime of public service had been an “inspiration to millions”.
My heart is broken. I am so lucky to have lived the adventure of loving this incredible man for 38 years. He passed the way he lived, on his own terms, surrounded by the people he loved, in the the place he loved best.
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) August 26, 2018
As a hearse brought Mr McCain’s body from his ranch in Sedona, Arizona, to a funeral home in Phoenix, people waving flags lined the street.
