You have probably seen by now the remarks Donald Trump made today not only belittling John McCain’s status as a war hero but mocking him for having been captured by the North Vietnamese. McCain “is a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured,” Trump said to Frank Luntz, who was moderating at the event in Ames, Iowa.
You should watch the whole exchange because it actually manages to be more sneering and caustic than it comes across in print, and it’s pretty terrible in print (video here).
But Trump wasn’t finished there.
He held a press conference after his appearance and did not apologize but rather tried to pivot a different topic, veterans care. “If a person is captured, they’re a hero as far as I’m concerned. … But you have to do other things also,” Trump said. “I don’t like the job John McCain is doing in the Senate because he is not taking care of our veterans.”
From that clumsy pivot came a Facebook post and a series of tweets, all in which Trump seems to try to be yelling ever more loudly over the din of condemnation from his fellow candidates and from his own party for having savaged McCain.
The he-man brand Trump has built for himself and which is at the root of his appeal doesn’t allow him to apologize or recant or soften. Trump thrives on these confrontations, and they are what define him to his for-the-moment supporters. He can only get louder and more over the top. He later took a shot at Mitt Romney, too, because like McCain, he is a loser to Obama. Losers both.
First the tweets:
In addition to doing a lousy job in taking care of our Vets, John McCain let us down by losing to Barack Obama in his run for President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2015
Captured or not, all our soldiers are heroes!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2015
The Veterans of our country have been treated like third class citizens for many years…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2015
….John McCain has failed miserably to fix the situation and to make it possible for Veterans to successfully manage their lives.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2015
All he does is go on television is talk, talk, talk, but incapable of doing anything.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2015
Then the Facebook post:
