AMES, iowa — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump slammed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a decorated Vietnam War veteran, on Saturday by saying McCain was not a war hero because he was captured by the North Vietnamese.
“He’s not a war hero,” Trump said. Sarcastically, Trump quipped, “He’s a war hero because he was captured.” Then, he added, “I like people that weren’t captured.”
Trump’s comments came during his appearance at the Family Leadership Summit, a daylong gathering of about 3,000 social conservative activists that is drawing nine other Republican presidential candidates.
A celebrity businessman and reality TV star, Trump has surged to the top of polls in the GOP race, in part because of his inflammatory comments about Mexican immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
Republican leaders and other candidates have been careful in how they respond to his remarks on illegal immigration, but his condemnation of McCain opened the floodgates, drawing swift and sharp criticism from other Republicans.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, himself a subject of recent attacks from Trump, said Trump was “unfit” to serve as president and should “immediately withdraw” from the race.
“Donald Trump should apologize immediately for attacking Sen. McCain and all veterans who have protected and served our country,” Perry 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.”
Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, also chimed in with a Twitter post calling for an end to such “slanderous attacks”: “Enough with the slanderous attacks. @SenJohnMcCain and all our veterans — particularly POWs have earned our respect and admiration.”
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, campaigning in western Iowa, denounced Trump’s remarks and said McCain is “undoubtedly an American hero.”
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida posted on Twitter: “America’s POWs deserve much better than to have their service questioned by the offensive rantings of Donald Trump.”
The Republican National Committee also criticized Trump and defended McCain.
“Sen. McCain is an American hero because he served his country and sacrificed more than most can imagine. Period,” RNC chief strategist and communications director Sean Spicer said in a statement. “There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably.”
Mitt Romney, who ran against McCain in the 2008 GOP primaries, also took to Twitter to defend him: “The difference between @SenJohnMcCain and @realDonaldTrump: Trump shot himself down. McCain and American veterans are true heroes.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who has been perhaps the loudest defender of Trump’s remarks about immigrants, refused to condemn Trump over his comments about McCain. Cruz said 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.
Trump avoided serving in the Vietnam war because of a series of draft deferments. Asked why he didn’t serve, Trump said: “I had student deferments and ultimately had a medical deferment because of my feet. I had a bone spur.” But Trump said he did not recall which foot was injured and instructed reporters to look up his records.
Trump added: “I was not a big fan of the Vietnam War. I wasn’t a protester, but the Vietnam War was a disaster for our country. What did we get out of the Vietnam War other than death? We got nothing.”
