Despite five draft deferments, the very rich political bully thinks he has the right to criticize Sen. John McCain’s war record.
In September 2008, Donald Trump donated $28,450 to John McCain’s Victory Committee and endorsed him on Larry King Live. “I know him. I like him. I respect him,” he said. “He’s a smart guy and I think he’s going to be a great president.”
Seven years later, Trump is the one running, and he now respects McCain, who spent five years as a prisoner during the Vietnam War, so little that he says he’s not really a war hero.
During a discussion at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa Saturday afternoon, Trump said, “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK? I hate to tell you.”
Trump, whose candidacy has been defined by his insults to various groups of people and even entire ethnicities, finally went too far.
Paul Rieckhoff, the founder and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told The Daily Beast that Trump’s comments were “asinine” and an insult “to everyone who’s ever worn the uniform and to all Americans.”
Rick Perry, one of just two Republican primary contenders to have served in the military (the other is Senator Lindsey Graham), called for Trump to withdraw from the contest.
“Donald Trump should apologize immediately for attacking Senator McCain and all veterans who have protected and served our country,” he said in a statement. “As a veteran and an American, I respect Sen. McCain because he volunteered to serve his country. I cannot say the same of Mr. Trump. His comments have reached a new low in American politics. His attack on veterans make him unfit to be Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, and he should immediately withdraw from the race for President.”
Lindsey Graham responded to Trump on Twitter: “At the heart of @realDonaldTrump statement is a lack of respect for those who have served—a disqualifying characteristic to be president.”
So did Jeb Bush: “Enough with the slanderous attacks. @SenJohnMcCain and all our veterans–particularly POWs have earned our respect and admiration.”
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As the crowd in Iowa laughed, gasped and booed—unsure if Trump was joking—he doubled down on his point. “He’s a war hero because he was captured! OK? I believe, perhaps, he’s a war hero. But right now? He’s said some very bad things about a lot of people.”
Actually, he’s said very bad things about just one person who Trump cares a lot about: Trump.
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