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The Navy has acknowledged that it received a request to hide the USS John S. McCain during President Donald Trump's recent visit to Japan.

'A request was made to the U.S. Navy to minimize the visibility of USS John S. McCain, however, all ships remained in their normal configuration during the President's visit,' Rear Admiral Charlie Brown, chief of information, said in a statement to NBC News.

'There were also no intentional efforts to explicitly exclude Sailors assigned to USS John S. McCain,' the statement said.

The controversy surfaced earlier this week, when the Wall Street Journal reported that it had seen an email dated May 15 from the White House Military Office directing Navy officials that the USS John S. McCain needed to be 'out of sight' during Trump's visit.

The USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) destroyer is moored in a dock at the Yokosuka Naval Base on Saturday in Yokosuka, Japan. Trump has denied any involvement the move to hide the ship

The USS John S. McCain (left) is still under repair after ramming into an oil tanker in 2017

Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday that he 'was not a big fan' of McCain 'in any way, shape or form.' But, Trump added, 'I would never do a thing like that'

The ship is named for the late Senator John McCain, as well as for his father and grandfather, who were both Navy admirals and shared the same name. 

The Pentagon's acting chief, Patrick Shanahan, said he never authorized attempts to make sure Trump would not see the USS John S. McCain at its homeport in Japan and has asked his staff to investigate. Trump said he was not involved in the matter.

Trump, who long feuded with McCain, told reporters at the White House Thursday that he 'was not a big fan' of the Arizona Republican and onetime presidential nominee 'in any way, shape or form.' But, Trump added, 'I would never do a thing like that.

'Now, somebody did it because they thought I didn't like him, OK? And they were well-meaning, I will say,' he said, while insisting he was kept in the dark.

The order that a Navy destroyer be kept out of sight reflected what appeared to be an extraordinary White House effort to avoid offending an unpredictable president known for holding a grudge, including a particularly bitter one against McCain.

The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain, with a hole on its portside after a collision with an oil tanker, makes its way to Changi naval base in Singapore on August 21, 2017

Three U.S. officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the White House told the Navy in an email to keep the warship named for McCain, his father and his grandfather out of Trump's sight during the president's visit Tuesday to a base outside Tokyo.

On Friday, Shanahan told reporters that his staff did a 'quick and exhaustive' search and found no email to his front office. And he said he has not spoken to the White House or to a top Navy admiral in the Pacific about the matter.

Asked if anyone would face discipline, he said that he will 'wait until I get a full explanation of the facts before I'll pass judgment on the situation.'

The Wall Street Journal first reported that a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command official wrote an email to Navy and Air Force officials about Trump's Memorial Day weekend visit, including instructions for preparations for the USS Wasp, where he was to speak.

'USS John McCain needs to be out of sight,' according to the email, obtained by the Journal and whose existence was confirmed to the AP by the three U.S. officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private email correspondence.

When a Navy commander expressed surprise at the instruction, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command official answered, 'First I heard of it as well,' the Journal reported. The official said he would talk to the White House Military Office to get more information about the directive, the newspaper reported.

President Trump greets troops after speaking at a Memorial Day event aboard the USS Wasp

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania arrive onboard Japan's navy ship Kaga in Yokosuka on May 28, 2019

Trump tweeted late Wednesday that he 'was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. McCain during my recent visit to Japan.'

Still, he added Thursday that he 'was very, very angry with McCain because he killed health care. I was not a big fan of John McCain in any way, shape or form.'

As a senator, McCain broke with the president in key areas. He incensed Trump with his thumbs-down vote foiling the effort to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law. Trump also mocked McCain's military service, which included years of imprisonment and torture during the Vietnam War.

The warship, commissioned in 1994, was originally named for the senator's father and grandfather, both Navy admirals named John Sidney McCain. Last year, the Navy rededicated the ship to honor the senator as well.

Shanahan told reporters in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday that he had been unaware of the request about the USS John S. McCain.

'I never authorized, I never approved any action around the movement or activities regarding that ship,' Shanahan said. He said the military 'needs to do their job' and stay out of politics.

The Journal, citing photos it reviewed, reported that a tarp was placed over the USS John S. McCain's name before Trump's arrival and that sailors were instructed to remove any coverings from the ship that included its name.

Asked if the tarp was meant to block Trump's view of the ship, the officials said the tarp had been placed on the ship for maintenance and removed for the visit. Navy Cdr. Clay Doss, spokesman for U.S. 7th Fleet, told the AP that the tarp was on the ship on Friday but was removed by Saturday morning, the day Trump arrived in Japan.

'All ships remained in normal configuration during the President's visit,' he said.

Two U.S. officials told AP that all the ships in the harbor were lined up for Trump's visit, and they were visible from the USS Wasp. The officials said most of their names probably could not be seen since they were side by side but that the name of the USS John S. McCain could be seen from the pier.

Rear Adm. Charlie Brown, Navy public affairs officer, tweeted Wednesday night: 'The name of USS John S. McCain was not obscured during the POTUS visit to Yokosuka on Memorial Day. The Navy is proud of that ship, its crew, its namesake and its heritage.' POTUS stands for president of the United States.

 

A paint barge was in front of the USS John S. McCain on Saturday morning when 7th Fleet officials walked the pier to see how everything looked for the visit. The barge was then ordered to be moved and was gone by the time Trump arrived, the officials said.

The Journal reported that sailors on the USS John S. McCain, who usually wear hats with the ship's name on it, were given the day off when Trump visited.

Two U.S. officials told the AP that sailors on the USS John S. McCain were not told to stay away but that many were away for the long weekend. The officials also said that about 800 sailors from more than 20 ships and Navy commands were on the USS Wasp during the president's visit, and all wore the same Navy hat that has no logo, rather than wearing individual ship or command hats.

Trump was not welcome at McCain's funeral and raised the White House's U.S. flag back to full-staff shortly after McCain's death last August, despite U.S. Flag Code stating that it should remain at half-staff for another day. The flag returned to half-staff later in the day.

McCain's daughter Meghan tweeted Wednesday that Trump will 'always be deeply threatened by the greatness of my dad's incredible life.'

She added, 'There is a lot of criticism of how much I speak about my dad, but nine months since he passed, Trump won't let him RIP. So I have to stand up for him.

'It makes my grief unbearable.' 

Trump versus McCain - how the disputes developed

 Trump has had few good words to say about John McCain and the feud stretches back to at least 2015. Here is a potted history.

Trump and McCain feuded for years, and the enmity continued beyond the grave

June 30, 2015: 'I just disagree with his comments about the, quote, Mexicans,' McCain said about the campaign speech in which Trump suggested Mexican immigrants bring 'drugs' and 'crime' into the U.S. and that some of them are 'rapists.'

July 16, 2015: Trump calls McCain 'weak' during rally in Arizona. McCain hit back telling the New Yorker that Trump 'fired up the crazies' before Trump said 'The thousands of people that showed up for me in Phoenix were amazing Americans. @SenJohnMcCain called them 'crazies'--must apologize!'. He then added that McCain graduated last in his class in Annapolis and said he was a 'dummy'.

July 18, 2015: Trump said of McCain's time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. 'He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured.'

December 22, 2015: McCain says he is 'concerned' over Trump's praise of Russian president Vladimir Putin. 'The thing that is so concerning about Mr. Trump's compliments of Vladimir Putin is Vladimir Putin has slaughtered his own, murdered his own people, including people I knew. He has, his equipment has shot down an airliner and killed a couple hundred people.'

April 19, 2016: McCain announced he would not attend the Republican primary where Trump was due to be officially named the party's presidential nominee.

August 1, 2016: McCain criticised Trump who had criticized the Gold Star parents of a fallen U.S army captain. He said: 'In recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldier's parents. He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States — to say nothing of entering its service. I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump's statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates.'

October 8, 2016: Footage emerged showing Trump making misogynistic comments in 2005. McCain, and wife Cindy, said in a statement: 'Donald Trump's behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy 

December 29, 2016: McCain associate David Kramer, an executive at the McCain Institute, met with BuzzFeed reporter Ken Bensinger and passed off British ex-spy Christopher Steele's 'dirty dossier'. Buzzfeed published the dossier two weeks later. 

July 25, 2017: McCain rushed back to the Senate less than two weeks after brain surgery to vote 'no' on repealing the Affordable Care Act, which both he and Trump had campaigned on repealing. 

April 17, 2018: McCain released memoir 'The Restless Wave' in which he made unflinching criticisms of Trump, Russia and his feelings of unease around the president. 

June 20, 2018: Trump publicly blamed McCain for the Republican's failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017. McCain's daughter Meghan branded the move as 'gross'.

September 1, 2018: McCain's funeral is held at the Washington National Cathedral. He made explicit his wish that Trump not attend.

February 7, 2019:  McCain's daughter Meghan McCain appears on the Late Show and criticizes Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner for attending her father's funeral. She said she would never squash her 'beef' with the Trump family. 

March 2019: Trump continues to attack McCain. The president called him 'horrible' after the late senator's two daughters begged for the president to leave their dad and family alone. 

May 2019: It is claimed Trump wanted the USS John McCain 'out of sight' during his visit to Japan