Trump blasts other GOP candidates for criticism of McCain comments
Donald Trump on Sunday blasted other GOP presidential candidates who are criticizing the business mogul for mocking Sen. John McCain’s service record and time spent as a prisoner of war.
{mosads}Trump said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” that the fierce criticism he’s faced is coming from “Republican candidates, some of whom are registering 1 percent and zero, and they’re very upset that I’m leading the polls by actually a nice margin, they’re extremely upset and they were extremely when the Nevada numbers just came out and they’re through the roof too.”
Trump said challengers would “love” for him to pull out of the race because he’s “leading the pack.”
“I’m certainly not pulling out; I’m leading and I’m leading in many states. North Carolina just came in; I’m way in the lead there. Nevada, as I said, just came in. I’m way in the lead there,” he added. “And, interestingly, in Nevada, I lead in Hispanics by a tremendous — the Hispanics, I’m way into the 30s with Hispanics. Which I said, if I get the nomination, if I run for president, I will win the Hispanic vote, because I’ll be able to take jobs back from China, jobs back from Japan and Mexico, and everybody else that’s ripping us off on trade. And everybody knows that. And I will win the Hispanic vote.”
Trump said at the 2015 Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa on Saturday that McCain “was a war hero because he was captured.”
“I like people who weren’t captured,” he added.
“I got a standing ovation, the biggest ovation they had all weekend, by far,” Trump said Sunday. “When I left the room, it was a total standing ovation. It was wonderful to see. Nobody was insulted.”
Asked if he owned McCain an apology, he said, “No, not at all.”
“I’m very disappointed in John McCain because the vets are horribly treated in this country,” Trump said. “I’m fight for the vets. I’ve done a lot for the vets.
“And the vets — I’ve been going around to the campaign trail. They’re treated like third-class citizens. He’s done nothing to help the vets. And I will tell you, they are living in hell.”
Trump said he had student deferments during the Vietnam War, as well as a “minor medical deferment” for a bone spur of the foot.
“I was then entered into the draft because if I would have gotten a different number, I could have been drafted,” he said.
“I was fortunate, in a sense, because I was not a believer in the Vietnam War. That was another war that was a disaster for this country. Lives and money and it’s disgraceful what happened with the Vietnam War. I was not a fan of the Vietnam War. But I was entered into the draft and I got a very, very high draft number.”
–This report was updated at 11:37 a.m.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
