Breaking: Trump Mocks McCain’s Hero Status at #FLS2015
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump fired back at former 2008 GOP nominee John McCain at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa.
McCain, a senator from Arizona, criticized Trump recent rally in Phoenix that drew a crowd of 15,000. The rally was held against illegal immigration where McCain said the businessman event “fired up the crazies, galvanized them and really got them activated.”
Moderator Frank Luntz pressed Trump recent comment of calling a war hero veteran “a dummy” over twitter. Luntz described McCain experience as a POW saying “McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam after his plane was shot down during combat.”
Trump shot back on this rhetoric by saying McCain is “not a war hero, he was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
“Perhaps he’s a war hero, but right now, he’s said bad things about a lot of people,” Trump added
Trump continued to bash McCain and the reason why he didn’t like him after he lost the 2008 presidential elections to Barack Obama. “I never liked him after that, because I don’t like losers,” Trump said. He admitted that he use to like McCain and use to raise money for his presidential run but after he lost he hasn’t liked him much since.
Trump was asked after the speech if he would apologize to McCain in which Trump bluntly said “No.”
In a press release sent today, Trump said:
I am not a fan John McCain because he has done so little for our Veterans and he should know better than anybody what the Veterans need, especially in regards to the VA. He is yet another all talk, no action politician who spends too much time on television and not enough time doing his job and helping the Vets. He is also allowing our military to decrease substantially in size and strength, something which should never be allowed to happen.
Furthermore, he was extremely disrespectful to the thousands upon thousands of people, many of whom happen to be his constituents, that came to listen to me speak about illegal immigration in Phoenix last week by calling them “crazies”.
These were not “crazies”—these were great American citizens.
I have great respect for all those who serve in our military including those that weren’t captured and are also heroes.
I want to strengthen our military and take care of our Veterans. I want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN especially for those that serve to protect our freedom. I am fighting for our Veterans!
Presidential candidates were quick to distance themselves from Trump’s remarks and to condemn them:
.@SenJohnMcCain is an American hero & all POW’s deserve our nation’s highest debt of gratitude. @realDonaldTrump‘s comments are disgraceful.
— Rick Perry (@GovernorPerry) July 18, 2015
Enough with the slanderous attacks. @SenJohnMcCain and all our veterans – particularly POWs have earned our respect and admiration.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) July 18, 2015
.@SenJohnMcCain is an American hero, period. I’ll denounce any attack against his service and anyone else who wears the uniform. -SW
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) July 18, 2015
After Donald Trump spends six years in a POW camp, he can weigh in on John McCain’s service
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) July 18, 2015
At the heart of @realDonaldTrump statement is a lack of respect for those who have served – a disqualifying characteristic to be president
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 18, 2015
