Although John McCain and Donald Trump both represented the Republican Party in US presidential elections, the comparison between the two politicians effectively ends there.
Senator McCain's 1998 campaign resulted in an honourable defeat and he remained a revered figure among all shades of opinion on Capitol Hill until his death from brain cancer last week at the age of 81.
Mr Trump is widely regarded as the most divisive president in modern history and his crude remarks about Mr McCain's five-year incarceration as a prisoner of war in Vietnam caused particular outrage.
Senior Republicans and Democrats will gather for Mr McCain's funeral service at Washington Cathedral today when the absence of Mr Trump is likely to cause little regret.
