Updates below - The Donald has caused a firestorm of reaction from the press, other candidates and the RNC. Break out your popcorn. Now back to the diary...
Says the guy with four student deferments.
From CNN:
Washington (CNN)Donald Trump on Saturday questioned whether Sen. John McCain -- who spent five years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War -- is a war hero.
"He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK? I hate to tell you," Trump said at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa. "I believe perhaps he is a war hero."
The comments met with a mix of gasps, laughter and some applause from an audience that was present during a question-and-answer session with the real estate mogul.
Other reports say there were scattered boos.
“He’s not a war hero,” said Trump. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
The remarks, which came after days of back-and-forth between McCain and Trump, were met with scattered boos.
Whatever our political views on any war, we need to respect the men and women who fought and sacrificed. I disagree with John McCain's politics, but he spent years in a POW camp. Taunting him for surviving the downing of his plane is just... Trumpish.
The Donald may be imploding too early.
We're gonna need more popcorn. Seems like the GOP (un)civil war has started.
10:53 AM PT: Updated to add quote and link from Politico.
11:53 AM PT: Thanks to Leo Flinnwood below who linked to Lindsay Graham's response:
In a series of tweets posted to his Twitter account, Graham said McCain "went through hell" during his service in Vietnam when he was captured by the Viet Cong.
"If there was ever any doubt that @realDonaldTrump should not be our commander in chief, this stupid statement should end all doubt," Graham said. "If there was ever any doubt that he should not be the #GOP standard bearer, his growing mountain of stupid statements should end all doubt."
And Rick Perry has weighed in (via the Guardian):
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”.
11:56 AM PT: And the hits just keep coming:
Former 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. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush condemned “slanderous attacks” against McCain, in a tweet.
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.”
12:01 PM PT: And now the Washington Post gets into the game:
Donald Trump disparaged John McCain’s military service. Is this the end of his run?At Saturday's Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, Donald Trump may, at last, have crossed a line with Republican voters from which he can't walk back...
Having already responded on Twitter by calling McCain a "dummy," Trump upped the ante in Iowa by disparaging McCain's -- and every POW's -- military service.
12:11 PM PT: And now the Republican National Committee joins in:
This is the statement released by RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer:
Senator McCain is an American hero because he served his country and sacrificed more than most can imagine. Period. There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably.
The NY Times has just piled on. I recommend a read.
The Trump Campaign’s Turning Point
Donald Trump’s surge in the polls has followed the classic pattern of a media-driven surge. Now it will follow the classic pattern of a party-backed collapse.
Mr. Trump’s candidacy probably reached an inflection point on Saturday after he essentially criticized John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam War. Republican campaigns and elites quickly moved to condemn his comments — a shift that will probably mark the moment when Trump’s candidacy went from boom to bust.
Until today, the big question about Mr. Trump was when coverage would shift toward a serious examination of him. Journalists and campaigns have, understandably, been reluctant to treat him as a serious candidate. The Huffington Post, for instance, decided it would cover him in the entertainment section. But eventually, campaigns were bound to treat him as a threat to be neutralized, and journalists would decide he was a candidate who needed to be covered.
Today, Mr. Trump brought the shift upon himself. His comments were nothing less than an invitation for the rest of the Republican Party to begin their long-awaited offensive. So far, the Republican National Committee, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker have already criticized him for his comments.
After today, Republican commentators and campaigns will have far fewer reservations about attacking Mr. Trump. They will be dismissive of his candidacy, and they will probably diversity their attacks, expanding the onslaught to include his record of donating to Democrats and his continuing support for universal health care. Nearly all of the campaigns have incentives to pile on, and Mr. Trump — without a deep base of support and with few party allies — will struggle to hold on.