GOP sheds cautious approach to Trump, but he may not care

Jack McCain, the fourth in his family to graduate from the Naval Academy, said he is less concerned about Trump apologizing to his father, which he has declined to do, than to other prisoners of war and military veterans.

McCain says it was “the great honor” of his life to be “in the company of heroes”. “Somehow to denigrate that in any way is offensive, I think, to most of our veterans”.

Since his comments, Trump has struggled to find his footing, accusing the media of distorting his comments and digging in even further with an op-ed in USA Today published Sunday (July 19).

With a smile, the senator’s son said Trump was wrong about that.

Trump has been under fire from the large GOP field – with the notable exception of Ted Cruz – after saying on Saturday that McCain is “not a war hero” and is, in fact, a “loser”.

Trump’s comments about McCain came as Republican Party leadership is already struggling to contain the blowback from a number of controversial statements made by the billionaire real estate mogul in recent weeks, including remarks about some illegal Mexican immigrants being rapists.

John McCain said Monday morning that Donald Trump owes an apology not to him, but to the nation’s veterans and their families, for calling into question the Arizona senator’s war record.

But Trump said McCain isn’t doing enough for veterans, who are treated like “third class citizens”.

FILE – Sen. John McCain talks to the media on Capitol in Washington June 18, 2015.

When asked Monday if he wanted an apology from Trump, McCain, whose supporters have been blasting Trump all weekend, said he doesn’t need one. Lauer said. “And I’m using the one string of sentences together: ‘He’s not a war hero“.

But he said Mr Trump should apologise to military families for the remark. “I listened to the whole thing, and he did not say it the way they reported it”.

Trump has 24% in the new ABC News/Washington Post poll, with Scott Walker in second place at 13% and Jeb Bush at 12%. “So what I said is John McCain, I disagree with him that these people aren’t mad”.

McCain spent five and a half years as a prisoner of war. “I’m not a hero”.

Republican strategist Frank Luntz believes that we might be seeing the beginning of a third party candidate in Donald Trump. “I like people who weren’t captured“.