Donald Trump is ‘becoming a jackass,’ Lindsey Graham says

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says Donald Trump is “becoming a jackass.”

“He’s bringing his name down and he’s not helping the process and he shouldn’t be commander in chief,” Mr. Graham, one of Mr. Trump’s 2016 GOP presidential rivals, told CNN.

“If you want to be commander in chief of the armed forces, you need to understand that John McCain and all like him, not just John, are truly American heroes and that when you put yourself in harm’s way that makes you a hero,” Mr. Graham said.

Mr. Graham said what Mr. Trump said about Mr. McCain’s military service over the weekend was “offensive.”

“He’s becoming a jackass at a time when we need to have a serious debate about the future of the party and the country,” he said. “This is a line he’s crossed. … This is the beginning of the end of Donald Trump.

“I am really pissed,” he said.

Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski called the “jackass” remark “a politically motivated statement.

“You’ve got a candidate who’s running for president of the United States who’s registering low in the polls,” Mr. Lewandowski said on CNN. “He’s trying to do anything to make the debate stage and he needs to get on TV and talk about a message which clearly — his message is not resonating with the American public.”

Mr. Trump says he isn’t apologizing after saying over the weekend Mr. McCain isn’t a war hero because “he was captured; I like people that weren’t captured, OK?”

Mr. Trump says he repeatedly clarified that he thinks Mr. McCain is indeed a war hero, and has called on Mr. McCain to apologize for referring to his supporters at a recent rally in Arizona as “crazies.” Mr. McCain said he meant it as a term of endearment.

But Mr. Lewandowski said Mr. McCain is getting a pass and the whole thing started with Mr. McCain’s remark.

“It’s not affectionate — every time Senator McCain says something, they give him a pass, whether they’re ’wack birds,’ or ’wacko birds’ or ’crazies,’ he gets a pass,” Mr. Lewandowski said. “These are hardworking Americans, the best individuals possible, who want something better for their country. And there was no media outcry, no pushback [against] Senator McCain saying ’where’s your apology?’ Why don’t we ask where his apology is for those hardworking people who showed up in Phoenix that day to stand up for their country?

“Mr. Trump has been very clear: Lindsey Graham and John McCain are in favor of amnesty for illegal aliens,” he said. “Mr. Trump has been very clear that that is not the path that we want to take in this country.”