Mitt Romney breaks his silence over Trump attacks on John McCain - here's what he just said

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) finally issued a statement Tuesday against the attacks President Donald Trump has continued to make on the late Sen. John McCain, who passed away from aggressive brain cancer in August.

"I can't understand why the President would, once again, disparage a man as exemplary as my friend John McCain: heroic, courageous, patriotic, honorable, self-effacing, self-sacrificing, empathetic, and driven by duty to family, country, and God," Romney tweeted.

The tweet received 4K retweets and 24K "likes" in the three hours after he posted the missive.

Trump had recently criticized McCain in a tweet on Saturday that blamed him for casting the key vote against a Republican bill that would have repealed and replaced Obamacare.

When asked by reporters about his tweet Tuesday, the president responded, "I never was a fan of John McCain, and I never will be."

Trump was assailed by Meghan McCain, the late senator's daughter, for continuing to attack her late father after his death.

"No one will ever love you the way they loved my father," she responded on Twitter. "I wish I had been given more Saturday's [sic] with him."

"Maybe spend yours with your family instead of on twitter obsessing over mine?" she concluded.

The president has been at odds with McCain since before he entered the White House. One of his first public controversies was when he downplayed McCain's heroism in July 2015.

"He's a war hero 'cause he was captured," Trump said at the time dismissively. "I like people that weren't captured."

Here's the latest in Trump attacks on McCain:

Trump: I never was a fan of McCain, and I never will bewww.youtube.com