Donald Trump must reach out to American military veterans and should retract past statements about preferring those who “weren’t captured,” Arizona Sen. John McCain said Sunday.
Mr. McCain said he doesn’t harbor any ill will toward Mr. Trump, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee, over comments the billionaire businessman made last year. Mr. Trump infamously said Mr. McCain isn’t a war hero and seemed to denigrate the senator’s time as a prisoner of war, saying, “I like people who weren’t captured.”
“I think it’s important for Donald Trump to express his appreciation for veterans, not John McCain, but veterans who were incarcerated as prisoners of war,” Mr. McCain said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “What he said about me, John McCain, that’s fine. I don’t require any repair of that. But when he said, ’I don’t like people who were captured,’ there’s a body of American heroes that would like to see him retract that statement. Not about me, but about the others.”
More broadly, Mr. McCain said he believes Mr. Trump could be a “capable leader” of the country, but added that the politics of personal destruction must end.
“I have never seen the personalization of a campaign like this one, where people’s integrity and character are questioned,” he said. “It bothers me a lot.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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