GOP firebrand Donald Trump took another shot at Arizona Sen. John McCain on Saturday, saying the former Republican Presidential nominee and POW during the Vietnam War was only a war hero “because he was captured.”
Mr. Trump made the comment during an interview with pollster Frank Luntz at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa on Saturday.
During the interview, Mr. Trump said that he supported Mr. McCain during the 2008 election, but doesn’t like him very much now.
Mr. Luntz pointed out that Mr. McCain is a war hero, to which Mr. Trump responded, “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured,” Mediaite reported. “He’s a war hero because he was captured. And I believe perhaps he’s a war hero. Right now he said a lot of bad things about a lot of people.”
Mr. Trump has been feuding with Mr. McCain since Mr. McCain said Mr. Trump is “firing up the crazies” with his controversial rhetoric about illegal immigration. Mr. Trump fired back, calling Mr. McCain a “dummy” on Twitter.
“If a person is captured, they’re a hero as far as I’m concerned. I don’t like the job John McCain is doing in the Senate because he is not taking care of our veterans,” Mr. Trump said at a news conference later in the day, The Associated Press reported.
“After Donald Trump spends six years in a POW camp, he can weigh in on John McCain’s service,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said on Twitter in response to Mr. Trump’s statements.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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