John McCain Wants Donald Trump to Apologize to Veterans
Trump said McCain is only a war hero "because he was captured."
— -- Sen. John McCain said billionaire Donald Trump should apologize to military service members and their families after his comments on troops held captive during war.
"I don’t think so,” McCain said today when asked whether Trump owes him an apology in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “But I think he may owe an apology to the families of those who have sacrificed in conflict and those who have undergone the prison experience in serving our country.
"So many men and some women who served and sacrificed and happened to be held prisoner and somehow to denigrate that in any way their service I think is offensive to most of our veterans.
"When Mr. Trump said that he prefers to be with people who are not captured. Well the great honor of my life was to serve in the company of heroes. I’m not a hero,” McCain, 78, added.
Trump Saturday suggested McCain, who was beaten and tortured as he was held captive as a POW in Vietnam for five and a half years, was only a war hero "because he was captured."
"He's a war hero because he was captured," Trump said the Family Leadership Council summit in Iowa. "I like people who weren’t captured."
The comments set off a firestorm in the Republican Party with many condemning Trump's comments and at least one candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, calling for him to drop out of the race. McCain said that decision is up to Trump himself.
"I think that’s a decision that he will have to make. Again what I think he should do is apologize to the families and those who have served," McCain said. "The proudest moments of their lives was serving in the company of heroes and those are the people he should apologize to."
Trump has said he does not think he owes McCain an apology for his comments.