WASHINGTON, Sept 24 — US President Donald Trump yesterday launched a fresh mocking attack on John McCain, the Republican senator who died in 2018, after McCain’s widow threw her support behind Joe Biden in the election.

In a particularly aggressive tweet the Republican leader once again criticised John McCain who was one of the few in the Republican party to openly castigate him.

"I hardly know Cindy McCain other than having put her on a Committee at her husband’s request,” he tweeted.

"Joe Biden was John McCain’s lapdog,” he said of the Democratic challenger he will face as he seeks a second four-year term on November 3.

Denouncing "bad decisions on endless wars,” Trump stated that he was "Never a fan of John.”

"Cindy can have Sleepy Joe!” concluded the president.

Cindy McCain’s support for Biden, announced Tuesday, is a setback for Trump, who faces an uphill challenge in the election and boasts of having the entire Republican party behind him.

The widow of the former senator tweeted "we are Republicans, yes, but Americans foremost. There’s only one candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation, and that is @JoeBiden.” — AFP