'The president is fighting with a dead guy again': Fox News host flabbergasted by Trump's latest attacks on John McCain

Fox News

Fox News host Shepard Smith.

• Fox News host Shepard Smith appeared to be flabbergasted by President Donald Trump's most recent comments about the late Republican Sen. John McCain.
• Trump claimed to end the US's "endless wars" in the Middle East during a speech in Ohio earlier on Wednesday, but renewed his unprovoked attacks against McCain's character and service.
• "The president is fighting with a dead guy again today," Smith said. "A dead war hero."
• "I wonder where the advice is coming from now," Smith added.

Fox News host Shepard Smith appeared to be flabbergasted by President Donald Trump's most recent comments about the late Republican Sen. John McCain during his show on Wednesday afternoon.

During a speech earlier Wednesday in Ohio, Trump claimed to end the US's "endless wars" in the Middle East, but renewed his unprovoked attacks against McCain's character and service to the nation.

"I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president, I had to approve," Trump said, seemingly in reference to allowing Air Force Two to bring McCain's body to the US Capitol for funeral proceedings.

"I don't care about this, I didn't get 'thank you.' That's OK," Trump added. "We sent him on the way, but I wasn't a fan of John McCain."

Smith said he was dumbfounded by Trump's repeated disparaging comments against the Vietnam War veteran, and why he "brings it up sometimes on his own."

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Cindy McCain, her son James McCain, daughter Meghan McCain, and Bridget McCain look on as the casket of the late Sen. John McCain is loaded into a Hearse following his funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral.

"He can talk about the economy and the 71% of Americans, not Republicans, 71% of Americans who believe the economy is doing great," Smith said in reference to Trump. "Thank you for the great economy, we're happy."

"But that's not what he's doing," Smith added. "The president is fighting with a dead guy again today. A dead war hero."

McCain died after a long battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer in August 2018. Following his death, Republicans and Democrats widely praised McCain's storied service in the US Navy and Congress. But the prevailing sentiment did not resonate with Trump, who has downplayed McCain's service for decades.

"He's not a war hero," Trump said in 2015. "He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."

Fox News legal contributor Andrew Napolitano agreed with Smith's assessment that Trump's comments about McCain actually do a disservice to the president.

"I don't know why, and I don't think he scores points even with his strong Republican supporters when he does this," Napolitano said. "Whether you agree with John McCain or disagree with his attitude about war, he was a great human being and a historic figure, and there's no logical reason to make these arguments after he's dead."

"I wonder where the advice is coming from now," Smith replied.

Trump frequently praises Fox News' coverage of him and often praises the network's opinion-show hosts. His relationship with some of the network's anchors; however, appears to have soured during the course of his presidency. In a tweet on Sunday, Trump described Smith as Fox News' "lowest rated anchor."