The blowback must have been tremendous.

It all began this morning when most of Washington’s government buildings began the day with flags at half staff in honor of John McCain, most buildings except the White House.  Then at a photo op, Donald Trump ignored questions about McCain.

Just now in the Oval: Trump just ignored multiple Qs about McCain, including four from @jonkarl who stood about 6 feet away from the president and asked if he had anything to say about the late senator and whether he believed McCain was a hero. The president stared straight ahead

— Michael C. Bender (@MichaelCBender) August 27, 2018

After reportedly vetoing a White House statement on the death of Sen. John McCain, President Trump ignored repeated questions about the late senator’s life and legacy. pic.twitter.com/X5paeG0Qvi

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) August 27, 2018

So pictures suddenly began emerging with flags at the capitol, and at the Washington monument lowered to half staff.  But at the White House, the flags were raised just after midnight last night and the message became painfully obvious.  Donald Trump did not want to honor the late Arizona Senator.

So striking to see WH flag at full staff in the foreground with all the flags at the Washington Monument lowered to half staff in the background. pic.twitter.com/VedJiLKcpO

— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) August 27, 2018

What a mess.  So, on Monday afternoon, suddenly a White House statement appears.

Now, was that so hard? pic.twitter.com/uixjxCkMtk

— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) August 27, 2018

Flag atop White House lowered again to half-staff. Pres Trump was urged by GOP and Dem Senate leaders to honor @SenJohnMcCain until his day of interment on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/Org0ZgPXge

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) August 27, 2018

So what happened?  You can bet it was a loud and angry response.

It only took 48 hours of him refusing to, and blistering statements from veterans groups from VoteVets, the American Legion and AMVETS, as well as a flood of angry calls to the White House switchboard… https://t.co/y8m1sIBNeH

— VoteVets (@votevets) August 27, 2018

So now, the flag has been lowered again, officially, and it will stay that way through Sunday.

Look closely, and you'll see a number of other instances where Trump took a position, got blowback, and retreated—even if the retreats were often half-hearted or later reversed. The fact is, given enough pressure, Trump nearly *always* breaks down. https://t.co/hIRwYRemYH

— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) August 27, 2018