John McCain: Donald Trump Owes Vets an Apology, Not Me

McCain told MSNBC this morning that Trump doesn’t need to apologize to him, but should tell veterans he’s sorry.

“He’s not a war hero”, Trump said at the time.

Mr Trump was addressing a gathering of religious conservatives in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday, when the moderator referred to Mr McCain as a war hero.

Trump, for his part, blamed the media for the controversy, telling Matt Lauer on the Today show Monday that his words were taken out of context.

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.

“I don’t think so”, says Trump. “I didn’t say that”, Trump responded. “I never liked him as much after that ’cause I don’t like losers”, says Trump, to which the questioner insists that McCain is a war hero.

McCain was captured by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War and held for five years. But those who were my senior ranking officers, people like Col. Bud Day, Congressional Medal of Honor victor, those that inspired us to do things that we otherwise wouldn’t have been capable of doing. “I’m not a hero”, McCain said this morning. I just hate to see when people don’t have common sense, don’t have an understanding of what’s going on….

Trump later acknowledged that McCain’s sacrifice was heroic.

Even as Donald Trump’s comments on John McCain continue to make headlines, the Republican Presidential candidate is refusing to back down. Our country was divided in an nearly unprecedented fashion during the Vietnam War. I worked ever since to heal those wounds. The Republican National Committee also issued a statement saying “there is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably”.

With a smile, the senator’s son said Trump was wrong about that. He added “I can assure you, if you talk to our veterans, and I’ve had a flood of calls from our veterans, they are not happy”.

Numerous other Republican candidates, including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former Texas Governor Rick Perry and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, were similarly critical of Trump. He advocated building a wall along the United States’ southern border.