Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate, tweeted: “The difference between SenJohnMcCain and realDonaldTrump: Trump shot himself down. Sean Spicer, the RNC’s top strategist, tweeted: “There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably.”
The most pointed response came from the Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, who tweeted: “After Donald Trump spends six years in a POW camp, he can weigh in on John McCain’s service.”Įven the Republican National Committee, which has been noticeably reticent to criticize Trump, went after the billionaire. On Twitter, he said: “If there was ever any doubt that Donald Trump should not be our commander in chief, this stupid statement should end all doubt.” South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, a friend of McCain, has been a vociferous critic of Trump. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush condemned “slanderous attacks” against McCain, in a tweet. His attack on veterans makes him unfit to be commander-in-chief of the US armed forces, and he should immediately withdraw from the race for president.”įormer Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum tweeted that McCain “is an American hero, period” at an event on Saturday, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker said McCain was “an American hero” as well. His comments have reached a new low in American politics. “As a veteran and an American, I respect Senator McCain because he volunteered to serve his country. Former Texas governor Rick Perry released a statement, which said: “Donald Trump should apologize immediately for attacking Senator McCain and all veterans who have protected and served our country. Trump defended his words on stage by saying: “I am not supposed to respect the people who didn’t get captured?”Ī number of Trump’s Republican opponents were quick to criticize his comments. He went on to refer to a recent high-profile prisoner of enemy forces, from the Afghanistan war, when he insisted: “If a person is captured, they are a hero as far I’m concerned. Instead, he insisted that he was criticizing McCain for “not doing enough for our veterans”. In a press conference on Saturday, Trump refused to apologize and said he had nothing to apologize for.
Trump responded by calling the Arizona senator “a dummy” because McCain graduated last in his class from the Naval Academy. His jibe at McCain came in the midst of back-and-forth remarks between the two, in which McCain claimed the attendees at a recent Trump event in Arizona were “crazies”.
Amid continuing controversy over his remarks about Mexico and immigration, Trump is running at the top of most polls of the 15-strong field. Trump’s remarks came in a question-and-answer session at the Family Leadership Summit, a gathering of social conservatives in Ames, Iowa, at which a number of Republican presidential candidates were scheduled to appear. After graduating, he received a medical deferment. Trump received several student deferments from Vietnam while in college. McCain was held prisoner by North Vietnam for five and a half years, and repeatedly tortured. The former Texas governor Rick Perry said the remarks represented “a new low in American politics” and demanded that Trump “immediately withdraw from the race for president”. His words prompted a strong response from Republican candidates for president in 2016 – more immediate and forceful, indeed, than such reactions to Trump’s recent comments on Mexico and immigration.
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