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| Donald Trump: Republicans turn on tycoon as he refuses to apologise for John McCain 'slur' | Donald Trump: Republicans turn on tycoon as he refuses to apologise for John McCain 'slur' |
| (6 months later) | |
| Donald Trump, the property mogul and reality TV star-turned-poll-busting political candidate, has refused to apologise to US senator John McCain for suggesting the former Republican presidential nominee was only considered a war hero because he was taken prisoner in Vietnam. | Donald Trump, the property mogul and reality TV star-turned-poll-busting political candidate, has refused to apologise to US senator John McCain for suggesting the former Republican presidential nominee was only considered a war hero because he was taken prisoner in Vietnam. |
| Speaking at an event in Iowa on Saturday, Mr Trump said: “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.” | Speaking at an event in Iowa on Saturday, Mr Trump said: “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.” |
| Asked by ABC News whether he owed an apology to Mr McCain, a naval airman who was shot down over Vietnam, Mr Trump replied: “No, not at all.” | Asked by ABC News whether he owed an apology to Mr McCain, a naval airman who was shot down over Vietnam, Mr Trump replied: “No, not at all.” |
| His comments provoked a swift and fierce backlash from the Republican establishment, however, with presidential candidates past and present seizing the opportunity to chastise the businessman, who has upended the party’s 2016 race with his brash pronouncements. | His comments provoked a swift and fierce backlash from the Republican establishment, however, with presidential candidates past and present seizing the opportunity to chastise the businessman, who has upended the party’s 2016 race with his brash pronouncements. |
| Jeb Bush, current frontrunner for the Republican nomination and the only candidate ahead of Mr Trump in recent national polls, tweeted: “Enough with the slanderous attacks.” | |
| Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who officially entered the race last week, said Mr Trump ought to apologise not only to Mr McCain, but to “all the other men and women who have worn the uniform”. | Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who officially entered the race last week, said Mr Trump ought to apologise not only to Mr McCain, but to “all the other men and women who have worn the uniform”. |
| Mitt Romney, the party’s unsuccessful nominee in the 2012 presidential election, said the difference between Mr Trump and Mr McCain was “Trump shot himself down”. Mr Trump fired back: “Why would anybody listen to Mitt Romney? He lost an election that should have easily been won against Obama. By the way, so did John McCain.” | Mitt Romney, the party’s unsuccessful nominee in the 2012 presidential election, said the difference between Mr Trump and Mr McCain was “Trump shot himself down”. Mr Trump fired back: “Why would anybody listen to Mitt Romney? He lost an election that should have easily been won against Obama. By the way, so did John McCain.” |
| Criticism from his Republican rivals arrived more quickly and decisively in this instance than after Mr Trump described Mexican migrants as drug traffickers and “rapists” during his campaign launch last month. But when Mr Trump addressed a crowd of 5,000 recently in Arizona, Mr McCain’s home state, the senator accused him of “firing up the crazies” with anti-immigrant language. | Criticism from his Republican rivals arrived more quickly and decisively in this instance than after Mr Trump described Mexican migrants as drug traffickers and “rapists” during his campaign launch last month. But when Mr Trump addressed a crowd of 5,000 recently in Arizona, Mr McCain’s home state, the senator accused him of “firing up the crazies” with anti-immigrant language. |
| For that, Mr Trump said, it was Mr McCain who ought to say sorry. “We had thousands of people and he said they’re all crazies. He called them crazies. And frankly, I think he owes them an apology,” he told ABC. | For that, Mr Trump said, it was Mr McCain who ought to say sorry. “We had thousands of people and he said they’re all crazies. He called them crazies. And frankly, I think he owes them an apology,” he told ABC. |
| As a naval aviator, Mr McCain was shot down in 1967 and spent almost six years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, where he was tortured and beaten daily. When he was offered an early release because his father was an admiral in the US Navy, he refused – because, he later said, it would not have been the honourable thing to do. | As a naval aviator, Mr McCain was shot down in 1967 and spent almost six years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, where he was tortured and beaten daily. When he was offered an early release because his father was an admiral in the US Navy, he refused – because, he later said, it would not have been the honourable thing to do. |
| Mr Trump, who said on Saturday he thought Mr McCain had not done enough on behalf of US military veterans during his time in the Senate, has never served in the military, and avoided the draft during the Vietnam war with a series of deferments. | Mr Trump, who said on Saturday he thought Mr McCain had not done enough on behalf of US military veterans during his time in the Senate, has never served in the military, and avoided the draft during the Vietnam war with a series of deferments. |