Trump: McCain a war hero “because he was captured”

AMES - Donald Trump added John McCain to his hit list, saying the U.S. Senator and military veteran is a war hero only 'because he was captured.”

Trump made the remark Saturday at the Family Leader Summit, organized by Iowa's largest Christian conservative organization and attended by 10 Republican presidential hopefuls.

Moderator Frank Luntz, a Fox News contributor, asked Trump about his recently calling McCain 'a dummy.” Luntz asked Trump if that was appropriate given McCain is 'a war hero.”

'He's a war hero because he was captured,” Trump said. 'I like the people who weren't captured.”

Trump, the billionaire businessman who has been rising in national GOP polls, received standing ovations before and after his time on stage, during which he also once again stood strong to his comments that many of the immigrants illegally entering the U.S. from Mexico are drug traffickers and rapists.

Trump refused to apologize for his comment about McCain, while meeting with reporters after his summit appearance and in a statement issued by his campaign.

'I am not a fan John McCain because he has done so little for our veterans and he should know better than anybody what the veterans need, especially in regards to the VA,” Trump's statement said. 'He is yet another all talk, no action politician who spends too much time on television and not enough time doing his job and helping the vets. He is also allowing our military to decrease substantially in size and strength, something which should never be allowed to happen.

'Furthermore, he was extremely disrespectful to the thousands upon thousands of people, many of whom happen to be his constituents, that came to listen to me speak about illegal immigration in Phoenix last week by calling them ‘crazies.'”

Rick Perry, the former Texas governor also running for president, denounced Trump's comment, said it shows Trump is 'unfit to be Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces,” and that Trump should withdraw from the race.