Trump slams McCain for being ‘captured’ in Vietnam; many in GOP quickly

But his attempt at damage control seemed unlikely to diminish the anger his remarks had caused.

It is unclear how the remarks by Trump, who now is at or near the top in opinion polls measuring the popularity of the sprawling field of Republican presidential contenders, will be received by party stalwarts, many of whom are staunch supporters of the military.

John McCain isn’t a Tea Party darling, but Donald Trump’s attack on him could stall the real estate mogul’s meteoric rise among conservative Republicans. Said Trump, “He’s not a war hero”. “Captured or not, all our soldiers are heroes!” he tweeted.

According to Politico, Trump later denied saying McCain wasn’t a war hero at a press availability following the event, insisting, “If somebody’s a prisoner, I consider them a war hero”. “OK, you can have – I believe perhaps he is a war hero”. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for serving as a prisoner of war. What did we get out of the Vietnam War other than death?

Trump said he avoided service in the Vietnam War through student and medical deferments, adding that he did not serve because he “was not a big fan of the Vietnam war”. The Smoking Gun is owned by CNN’s parent company, Time Warner.

Several Republican presidential candidates were quick to condemn Trump.

“An very bad lot of Republicans are right now running out of their way to smack Donald Trump”, Texas Senator Ted Cruz told Bloomberg Politics’ Mark Halperin in an exclusive interview.

And in a statement released Saturday, Trump showed no inclination to back away from his comments about McCain either.

McCain’s daughter, Meghan, tweeted that she was “horrified” and “disgusted” by the remarks. “So I’ve never liked him as much after that because I don’t like losers”.

But while Texas Sen.

The other candidates attending the Saturday summit were former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum. “Period”.

The comments prompted strong criticism across the party.

Earlier in the week, Trump had described McCain as “a dummy” who graduated at the bottom of his class at the U.S. Naval Academy. Other outlets have Trump opting to double down, reportedly saying, “I am not supposed to respect the people who didn’t get captured?”

Graham also said the heroism displayed by USA military personnel usually applies to their families as well. I’ll denounce any attack against his service and anyone else who wears the uniform. Jindal talked about what he said were attacks on the American family and his Christian faith.

“.@SenJohnMcCain should be defeated in the primaries”. He was beaten and tortured repeatedly, in part because his father commanded the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.

“John McCain has not done enough for the veterans”, Trump told reporters.

“He’s not a war hero”, Trump said.

Donald Trump has said he will not apologize for his remarks.

When asked if he would apologize to the Arizona senator, Trump refused.