Trump says McCain isn't a real war hero.

[emilyj]

Speaking of Trump being a joke.

Trump attacks McCain: 'I like people who weren't captured'

By BEN SCHRECKINGER 7/18/15 12:22 PM EDT

Donald Trump might finally have crossed the line.

Appearing on Saturday at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, the real estate mogul took his running feud with Arizona Sen. John McCain to a new level.

“He’s not a war hero,” said Trump. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

The remarks, which came after days of back-and-forth between McCain and Trump, were met with scattered boos.
McCain, a former Navy pilot, spent roughly five-and-half years in a notorious North Vietnamese prison known as the “Hanoi Hilton,” where he was repeatedly tortured. He spent two of those years in solitary confinement.
At a press availability following his remarks, Trump denied saying that McCain isn’t a war hero and said, “If somebody’s a prisoner, I consider them a war hero.”

He also continued his attacks on the Arizona senator, saying, “I think John McCain’s done very little for the veterans. I’m very disappointed in John McCain.”

Trump received four student deferments from military service between 1964 and 1968. In Ames, he told reporters another medical deferment he received after graduating was for a bone spur in his foot. When asked which foot, Trump told reporters to look up the records.
Trump’s fellow Republican presidential candidates quickly distanced themselves from his remarks.

“John McCain is an American hero. I have nothing but respect for his service to our country,” tweeted Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. “After Donald Trump spends six years in a POW camp, he can weigh in on John McCain’s service,” he added in a second tweet.

”.@senjohnmccain is an American hero & all POW’s deserve our nation’s highest debt of gratitude. @realdonaldtrump’s comments are disgraceful,” tweeted former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
“
As a fellow veteran I respect @senjohnmccain because he volunteered to serve his country. I cannot say the same about Mr. @realdonaldtrump,” Perry added. He then called in a statement for Trump to drop out of the race.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close friend of McCain’s, tweeted, “If there was ever any doubt that @realdonaldtrump should not be our commander in chief, this stupid statement should end all doubt.” He added: “At the heart of @realdonaldtrump statement is a lack of respect for those who have served - a disqualifying characteristic to be president.”

At a campaign event in Sioux City, Iowa, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker called McCain “an American hero.” At a press gaggle afterwards, he said of Trump, “I unequivocally denounce him.”

Rick Santorum defended McCain while declining to directly condemn Trump, tweeting, “.@senjohnmccain is an American hero, period.”


Read more: www.politico.com/story/2015/07/trump-attacks-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured-120317.html#ixzz3gGYICVPO

[eddy]

Welp, that seals the deal. He is a troll. No way in hell is he saying that if he wants to be viable.

[W.T.Faulkner]

IF BOBBY JINDAL IS CHECKING YOUR SHIT, YOU NEED TO EVALUATE YOURSELF.

ETA: IF YOU MAKE SCOTT WALKER LOOK LIKE ANYTHING LESS THAN A GRADE-A ASSBASKET YOU NEED TO RINSE AND REPEAT IN YOUR SELF-EVALUATION.

[emilyj]

I'm on my phone, so I can't link the video. You can hear the audience gasping when he said that.

Asshole.

[NewOrleans]

omg.

Why is he talking shit about John McCain at all? He's not in the race, nothing.

[jln]

Oh really, Trump? That's rich coming from someone that used deferments to dodge Vietnam when his draft number was up.

[smock]

“He’s not a war hero,” said Trump. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

At a press availability following his remarks, Trump denied saying that McCain isn’t a war hero and said, “If somebody’s a prisoner, I consider them a war hero.”

Does Trump know he's ON CAMERA?

[ttt]

[ESF]

OMG I had no idea he was an asshole. He sure fooled the GOP.

[katietornado]

Fuck you, Donald Trump, for making me agree with BOBBY FUCKING JINDAL.

[mrspez07]

Was he trying to find a way out of this race early? Idiot! (



(Thank god!)

[knope2016]

I'm actually quite giddy inside. If the GOP keeps it up, this shitfest FUBAR of a run will be hilarity the whole way. And hopefully a sealed deal for a more left leaning candidate.

[ESF]

I am also so impressed with the brave tweets from so many of the GOP candidates. It takes real courage to come out and take a stand on the least controversial position ever. When Trump called Mexicans rapists, and they stood silent, that was understandable, because after all, it is hard to stand up for the millions of voiceless Latinos in this country. But I'm so proud to see that they've found their voices and are standing up for what is right now that a powerful white man has been smeared. Bravo Rick Perry. Bravo Bobby Jindal. Bravo Lindsey Graham. And bravo Scott Walker. You too are heroes. Thanks to your bravery, perhaps now Trump will exit the race, and we can go back to one in which we use coded language to talk about minorities, while offering unfunded gratitude to our vets.

[jdnotbyrider]

THE LEADER OF THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY PREVIEW POLLS EVERYBODY.

I don't like John McCain as a politician, but trying to say that his services don't make him a hero because he got captured-

I-ugh-what-fa....

I'm struggling to figure out how he's so popular. He got a team of people throwing colanders onto people's heads? I mean, what the hell?

[ESF]

Jul 18, 2015 13:06:12 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

omg.

Why is he talking shit about John McCain at all? He's not in the race, nothing.

This is why.

www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/18/trump-slams-mccain-for-being-captured-in-vietnam/

For the past few days, Trump has been publicly feuding with McCain, the GOP's 2008 presidential nominee. McCain said that Trump had drawn out "crazies" with his immigration-focused rally in Phoenix last weekend, and Trump responded by calling McCain a "dummy" for finishing at the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy.


I didn't know John McCain said that about the rally.  Good for him. 

[ESF]

Also from the WaPo article:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who has been perhaps the loudest defender of Trump's remarks about immigrants and met privately with Trump a few days ago in New York, refused to condemn Trump over his comments about McCain.

Cruz said that he considers McCain a friend and "an American war hero" and that it is an honor to serve with him in the Senate. But he said he would not criticize another Republican candidate, including Trump.

“I recognize that folks in the press love to see Republican-on-Republican violence, so you want me to say something bad about Donald Trump or bad about John McCain or bad about anyone else," Cruz told reporters here. "I’m not going to do it. John McCain is a friend of mine. I respect and admire him and he’s an American hero. And Donald Trump is a friend of mine.”


Tinfoil hat time:  They met to plot Trump's withdrawal and his support of a Cruz candidacy.

[Deleted]

[MrsAxilla]

Jul 18, 2015 14:02:57 GMT -5 knope2016 said:

I'm actually quite giddy inside. If the GOP keeps it up, this shitfest FUBAR of a run will be hilarity the whole way. And hopefully a sealed deal for a more left leaning candidate.

Lol, me too.  I KNEW the GOP a race would be awesome!

[tacosforlife]

Jul 18, 2015 14:03:54 GMT -5 ESF said:

I am also so impressed with the brave tweets from so many of the GOP candidates. It takes real courage to come out and take a stand on the least controversial position ever. When Trump called Mexicans rapists, and they stood silent, that was understandable, because after all, it is hard to stand up for the millions of voiceless Latinos in this country. But I'm so proud to see that they've found their voices and are standing up for what is right now that a powerful white man has been smeared. Bravo Rick Perry. Bravo Bobby Jindal. Bravo Lindsey Graham. And bravo Scott Walker. You too are heroes. Thanks to your bravery, perhaps now Trump will exit the race, and we can go back to one in which we use coded language to talk about minorities, while offering unfunded gratitude to our vets.

Tears. ;(

[tacosforlife]

Jul 18, 2015 14:12:04 GMT -5 ESF said:

Jul 18, 2015 13:06:12 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

omg.

Why is he talking shit about John McCain at all? He's not in the race, nothing.

This is why.

www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/18/trump-slams-mccain-for-being-captured-in-vietnam/

For the past few days, Trump has been publicly feuding with McCain, the GOP's 2008 presidential nominee. McCain said that Trump had drawn out "crazies" with his immigration-focused rally in Phoenix last weekend, and Trump responded by calling McCain a "dummy" for finishing at the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy.


I didn't know John McCain said that about the rally.  Good for him. 

I love that Trump's only insults are "dummy" and "loser."

Why wouldn't we want a 12-year-old boy running the country???

[MrsAxilla]

Jul 18, 2015 14:10:01 GMT -5 jdnotbyrider said:

THE LEADER OF THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY PREVIEW POLLS EVERYBODY.

I don't like John McCain as a politician, but trying to say that his services don't make him a hero because he got captured-

I-ugh-what-fa....

I'm struggling to figure out how he's so popular. He got a team of people throwing colanders onto people's heads? I mean, what the hell?

Honestly, I think he's paying people to support him.  He does have ten billion dollars.

[heyjude]

Jul 18, 2015 14:03:54 GMT -5 ESF said:

I am also so impressed with the brave tweets from so many of the GOP candidates. It takes real courage to come out and take a stand on the least controversial position ever. When Trump called Mexicans rapists, and they stood silent, that was understandable, because after all, it is hard to stand up for the millions of voiceless Latinos in this country. But I'm so proud to see that they've found their voices and are standing up for what is right now that a powerful white man has been smeared. Bravo Rick Perry. Bravo Bobby Jindal. Bravo Lindsey Graham. And bravo Scott Walker. You too are heroes. Thanks to your bravery, perhaps now Trump will exit the race, and we can go back to one in which we use coded language to talk about minorities, while offering unfunded gratitude to our vets.

Marry me!!!

[Miss Phryne Fisher]

That joke of a candidate just chartered a small lear jet and sailed right over the line. Holy shit.

[panicked]

If he has such an issue with the military and how fucking awesome they are, then he should not be given the PRIVILEGE of being the commander-in-chief.

[nursewife]

Woah. Even as a Canadian with nowhere near the info on McCain or patriotic views about him, even I get that was going to far.

Anyone think he might be having a psychotic break, as his paranoia is through the roof? I don't under how his daughter turned out so normal.

[eliseb0323]

Jul 18, 2015 13:11:57 GMT -5 jln said:

Oh really, Trump? That's rich coming from someone that used deferments to dodge Vietnam when his draft number was up.

Not to defend Trump, because the man is despicable, but he actually had a really high draft number (356) and would not have been called up regardless of deferments. He got a student deferment and later a medical deferment, as he was found unfit for service. The medical deferment paperwork doesn't say why he was disqualified, but that would be fun to know. Bill Clinton and George Bush also had high draft numbers 

i cant wait to see how Trump's followers defend this one.  Criticizing POWs for getting caught when you never served may be the line you just don't cross.  

[secretlyevil]

You know he's just saying whatever the fuck to cause a ruckus.

[panicked]

Besides having money, how is he at all qualified to run a country when he can't even keep his businesses out of bankruptcy?

[josieposy]

If he starts quoting from Blazing Saddles on the campaign trail, then I'll be convinced he's truly trolling.

He's been given an ego boost the size of that garbage pile in the Pacific, so he'll just keep pushing the line. (Pretty fitting analogy when you think about it.)

[sporky]

Unfortunately, I can't even say that I'm all that surprised by this.