Vets to troll Trump's July 4 celebration of himself with John McCain shirts

Trump is in for an unwelcome surprise on July 4, when he’s set to ruin Washington, D.C.’s, annual Independence Day festivities by hijacking the National Mall to give what’s sure to be a dark and politically charged speech.

Peppered in the crowd will be people wearing T-shirts that bear the name of the ship USS John S. McCain — the very ship that Navy officials ensured was out of sight back in May when Trump visited Japan so as not to anger the petty president.

The idea is the brainchild of the political group VoteVets and the group Rags of Honor, which is dedicated to helping homeless veterans.

And it’s an epic troll of Trump, who has a sick hatred of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, whom Trump continues to attack almost a year after McCain’s death in August 2018.

The shirt features McCain’s name in large red font, which will make it hard to miss in the crowd.

If you are interested in volunteering to help distribute these shirts with veterans on the Fourth of July in Washington, DC please visit our @countable action center – and a special thank you to @countable for all of their help and support: https://t.co/UGRra5RmIJ pic.twitter.com/pljS8CvzcP

— RagsOfHonorUSA (@RagsOfHonorUSA) June 22, 2019

The shirt reads, “USS John S. McCain” with the words “Big Bad John” below it.

While the troll intent is clear, both Rags of Honor and VoteVets didn’t explicitly mention that angering Trump is the goal of their T-shirt campaign.

“Whether it was Sen. McCain, his father, his grandfather or his sons, the McCain family has given more to this country than most, and America’s birthday seems like a great time to honor that service and sacrifice,” Rags of Honor founder Mark Doyle said in a statement to USA Today. “After all, people like them — and there aren’t many — made these kinds of celebrations possible.”

VoteVets chairman Jon Soltz echoed those sentiments in a statement to USA Today.

“While VoteVets and John McCain never much saw eye-to-eye on policy, and probably still would not if he was around today, his family’s service to America spoke to that sense of realizing this nation is bigger than just one man,” Stoltz said. “Honoring that kind legacy — especially of a political opponent’s — seemed fitting for July 4.”

Those interested in volunteering to hand out shirts, or to purchase one, can visit their website here.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.