Media coverage of Trump's McCain war-service Neutron Bomb

[Statistikhengst]

After claiming in Iowa that former GOP presidential nominee and current Senator John McCain was not a war hero, and then even worse, to say with great sarcasm that, well, he was, because he got captured, but that Trump - who never served and who got deferments - preferred people who didn't get captured, the media is just alight with lots of reporting over this.

I want to note in a way that actually has nothing to do with this content in particular - that just 30 seconds of bombasticism in this very media-oriented, 24/7 news-cycle society, can lead to an avalanche of media coverage and some harsh reactions, to say the least.

So, here are screenshots of (mostly) front page coverage from the major media outlets, plus a sprinkling from outlets on the Left and the Right. Underneath each screenshot are the accompanying links and some quotes that I thought were especially informative.

Trump Draws GOP Fire for McCain Remarks at Family Leadership Council Summit - ABC News

Ten Republican Presidential Candidates came to Ames Saturday for the Family Leadership Council summit, but presidential candidate Donald Trump made all the headlines early on in the eight-hour event, not because he’s doing well in the polls, but because of his remarks on former presidential candidate and POW John McCain.

"He's a war hero because he was captured," Trump said at the event, hosted by Iowa social conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats. "I like people who weren’t captured."

It’s a comment that stayed in Stephens Auditorium on the campus of Iowa State University long after Trump left. The nine other speakers were former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, South Carolina Sen.Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. The event was structured as a Q&A format with national pollster Frank Luntz and the audience asking the candidates questions.

Donald Trump John McCain only a war hero because he was captured - CBS News

Presidential candidate Donald Trump sparked yet another backlash among his fellow Republican candidates Saturday when he said that Sen. John McCain was only considered a war hero because he was captured - and seemed to mock him for that fact.

"He's not a war hero," Trump said at the Iowa Family Leadership Summit when moderator Frank Luntz brought up McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Immediately modifying his original remarks, Trump said, "He's a war hero 'cause he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK?"

"Perhaps he's a war hero, but right now he's said some very bad things about a lot of people," Trump said.

Donald Trump questions John McCain s bravery - CNNPolitics.com

Donald Trump ignited a political firestorm Saturday by questioning whether Sen. John McCain -- who spent over five years as a prisoner during the Vietnam War -- is a war hero.

By mid-afternoon, Trump tried to walk back his blunder on Twitter, saying "captured or not, all our soldiers are heroes!"

But his attempt at damage control seemed unlikely to diminish the anger his remarks had caused. They provoked an immediate outcry from his 2016 presidential rivals and the Republican National Committee, which has expressed concern about the impact his controversial remarks on immigration have had on the GOP brand.

For Republicans waiting to pounce on Trump and knock him from his position as the party's leading presidential candidate, the real estate mogul may have handed them an opening.

Donald Trump The guy GOP candidates can t ignore - CNN.com

Trump attacks McCain s record as war hero draws rebuke from GOP presidential field Fox News

Most of the 14 other GOP candidates, including some at the summit, immediately criticized Trump’s remarks.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry tweeted that McCain “is an American hero” and that all U.S. prisoners of war “deserve our nation's highest debt of gratitude” and that Trump’s comments are “disgraceful.”

He also called on Trump to apologize and said the comments make him “unfit” to become commander in chief and that he should quit the race.

Donald Trump On John McCain s War Record I Like People Who Weren t Captured

..."Perhaps he's a war hero, but right now he's said some very bad things about a lot of people."

McCain spent five and a half years in a North Vietnam prison where he was tortured after his Skyhawk dive bomber was shot down in 1967. President Barack Obama, who defeated McCain in the 2008 presidential race, has praised the Arizona senator as a "genuine war hero."

Trump avoided the draft with four student and one medical deferments.

Trump and McCain have gone back and forth this week after the Arizona senator told The New Yorker that Trump "fired up the crazies" with comments he made about undocumented immigrants during a rally in Phoenix. Trump, in characteristic fashion, fired back on Twitter, calling McCain a "dummy."

Trump said that he would not apologize to McCain for the comments, and defended his deferments to reporters. During a media availability after the comments, he denied that he had questioned McCain's military record.

He s Not a War Hero Donald Trump Mocks John McCain s Service - NBC News

Trump, whose own lack of military service has been called into question in the past, said later Saturday that he did not go to war because he was a student at first, and then because of bone spurs in his foot, reported MSNBC. He added that he opposed American military action in Vietnam at the time.

"I was not a big fan of the Vietnam War," Trump said. "I wasn't a protester, but the Vietnam War was a disaster for our country. What did we get out of the Vietnam War other than death? We got nothing."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/us/politics/trump-belittles-mccains-war-record.html

AMES, Iowa — Donald J. Trump has made his name in politics with provocative statements, but it was not until Saturday, after the flamboyant businessman turned presidential candidate belittled Senator John McCain’s war record, that many Republicans concluded that silence or equivocation about Mr. Trump’s incendiary rhetoric was inadequate.

Mr. Trump upended a Republican presidential forum here, and the race more broadly, by saying of the Arizona senator and former prisoner of war: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”...

...Yet Mr. Trump’s comments on Saturday drew condemnation from his rivals and senior officials in the party at a scale far greater than the response to his portrayal of Mexican immigrants as rapists. The response was an indication of the reverence many Republicans have for military service and sacrifice. But it was also something more: their best opening yet to marginalize Mr. Trump.

After weeks when many of them treaded lightly around Mr. Trump, who once again Saturday refused to rule out a third-party run, Republican leaders seized the opportunity to unambiguously speak out against a candidate they see as effectively hijacking their primaries.

Yet for all the outrage among party elites, some attendees at the Christian conservative conference where Mr. Trump made his comments were not nearly as offended, a reminder of the chasm between the Republican power structure and its grass roots.

Also: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/upshot/the-trump-campaigns-turning-point.html?abt=0002&abg=0

Also: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/fir...-candidates-defend-mccain-and-denounce-trump/

Is Trump s Campaign Effectively Over - Daniel Doherty

The Townhall link is especially helpful, because it is partly a repository of the massive amount of negative tweets from high-named Republicans all over the place about Trump's neutron bomb over McCain.

But this detail from the Townhall write-up is especially interesting:

Yup. For what it's worth, I voted for McCain for president in 2008, in part, because I read his memoir Faith of My Fathers in college shortly before the election. In it, McCain recalls in precise detail his time at the “Hanoi Hilton” – and the horrors he experienced therein. If memory serves, he more or less had dysentery the entire time he was there, which was five and a half years, and was beaten and tortured repeatedly, too. Moreover, he also refused to accept preferential treatmentduring his captivity when the opportunity presented itself. He is, in my view, a war hero. Period.

Frankly, I’m not really sure what Trump was getting at with his aforementioned comments. I do, however, expect him to suffer the consequences politically for having said them.

Trump Goes Ballistic McCain Is War Hero Because He Was Captured

GOP Contenders Slam Trump s Comments About John McCain

(that link is also a repository of Twitter reactions to Trump)

RNC Condemns Donald Trump s Remarks About John McCain

Reacting swiftly to Donald Trump's disparaging remarks Saturday about Sen. John McCain's war service, the Republican National Committee issued a statement saying there was "no place in our party or our country" for such comments.

"Senator McCain is an American hero because he served his country and sacrificed more than most can imagine. Period," said Sean Spicer, the RNC's chief strategist and communications director. "There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably.”

Mitt Romney Piles On Trump For Savaging McCain Trump Fires Back

(that is a tweet war between the two)

Donald Trump blasts John McCain over crazies remark He was a hero because he was captured - Washington Times

(that link is the only one I could find from a major news outlet that actually tries to cast this in a positive light. It makes no mention of the GOP criticism of Trump for his neutron bomb)

Rick Perry calls on Donald Trump to end his presidential bid His comments have reached a new low - Washington Times

“As a veteran and an American, I respect Sen. McCain because he volunteered to serve his country. I cannot say the same of Mr. Trump. His comments have reached a new low in American politics,” Mr. Perry said. “His attack on veterans make him unfit to be Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, and he should immediately withdraw from the race for President.”

Trump belittles McCain s war service sparking stern Republican backlash - The Washington Post

Donald Trump, the celebrity businessman who has rocketed to the front of the Republican presidential race, flippantly belittled Sen. John McCain’s war service here Saturday, inviting a torrent of criticism from party leaders and other candidates.

“He’s not a war hero,” Trump said of McCain at a summit of 3,000 socially conservative activists. He continued, sarcastically, “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”

For the past month, Republican leaders have cringed privately at Trump’s inflammatory comments about undocumented immigrants from Mexico and have been aghast at his summer surge to the top of the polls. But they have been reluctant or afraid to condemn a candidate whose outbursts have proven both brash and unpredictable.

That dynamic changed suddenly Saturday. Within an hour of Trump’s slam on the Arizona senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee, the floodgates opened.

Also: Trump slams McCain for being captured in Vietnam other Republicans quickly condemn him - The Washington Post


This event even reached the German media:

Pr sidentschaftskandidat Hier beleidigt Donald Trump seinen Parteifreund McCain - Videos - DIE WELT

"Here Donald Trump insults his GOP-friend John McCain"

Kein Kriegsheld Emp rung nach Trump- u erung ber McCain - N24.de

"Disgust/Umbrage after Trump's comments about McCain"

US-Wahlkampf Trump verh hnt Kriegsveteran McCain - Politik - S ddeutsche.de

"Trump ridicules/derides War-Veteran McCain"



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, what kind of effect this will have on Trump and his campaign probably depends on your point of view. Some think he will implode, others think he may actually climb even higher in GOP nomination polling.

Wait and see.

FYI.

 

[Stephanie]

well yeah, why do they want to cover some Guy named Mohammed attacking our military men and women. if they can blow Trump smoke up your asses they know many of you will swallow it and spread it around

bravo. you are now officially a useful tool for the DNC/commies

 

[OKTexas]

It will all be old news by the middle of the week. Sad thing McCain was a hero, then he became a politician, kind of tarnished that sterling image.

 

[Statistikhengst]

well yeah, why do they want to cover some Guy named Mohammed attacking our military men and women. if they can blow Trump smoke up your asses they know many of you will swallow it and spread it around

bravo. you are now officially a useful tool for the DNC/commies

Gee, your level of comprehension really is that of a 1st grader. This thread is not about the Chatanooga shooter, but had you actually taken the time to see the screenshots, that story is also at the top of the pile.

Have you taken your meds today, or is trolling your drug?

 

[Statistikhengst]

It will all be old news by the middle of the week. Sad thing McCain was a hero, then he became a politician, kind of tarnished that sterling image.

Your opinion, which I can gladly respect.

But I doubt that this will be old news so soon.

 

[NoNukes]

well yeah, why do they want to cover some Guy named Mohammed attacking our military men and women. if they can blow Trump smoke up your asses they know many of you will swallow it and spread it around

bravo. you are now officially a useful tool for the DNC/commies

This is your brain on drugs.

 

[blunthead]

After claiming in Iowa that former GOP presidential nominee and current Senator John McCain was not a war hero, and then even worse, to say with great sarcasm that, well, he was, because he got captured, but that Trump - who never served and who got deferments - preferred people who didn't get captured, the media is just alight with lots of reporting over this.

I want to note in a way that actually has nothing to do with this content in particular - that just 30 seconds of bombasticism in this very media-oriented, 24/7 news-cycle society, can lead to an avalanche of media coverage and some harsh reactions, to say the least.

So, here are screenshots of (mostly) front page coverage from the major media outlets, plus a sprinkling from outlets on the Left and the Right. Underneath each screenshot are the accompanying links and some quotes that I thought were especially informative.

View attachment 44935

Trump Draws GOP Fire for McCain Remarks at Family Leadership Council Summit - ABC News

Ten Republican Presidential Candidates came to Ames Saturday for the Family Leadership Council summit, but presidential candidate Donald Trump made all the headlines early on in the eight-hour event, not because he’s doing well in the polls, but because of his remarks on former presidential candidate and POW John McCain.

"He's a war hero because he was captured," Trump said at the event, hosted by Iowa social conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats. "I like people who weren’t captured."

It’s a comment that stayed in Stephens Auditorium on the campus of Iowa State University long after Trump left. The nine other speakers were former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, South Carolina Sen.Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. The event was structured as a Q&A format with national pollster Frank Luntz and the audience asking the candidates questions.

View attachment 44936

Donald Trump John McCain only a war hero because he was captured - CBS News

Presidential candidate Donald Trump sparked yet another backlash among his fellow Republican candidates Saturday when he said that Sen. John McCain was only considered a war hero because he was captured - and seemed to mock him for that fact.

"He's not a war hero," Trump said at the Iowa Family Leadership Summit when moderator Frank Luntz brought up McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Immediately modifying his original remarks, Trump said, "He's a war hero 'cause he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK?"

"Perhaps he's a war hero, but right now he's said some very bad things about a lot of people," Trump said.

View attachment 44937

Donald Trump questions John McCain s bravery - CNNPolitics.com

Donald Trump ignited a political firestorm Saturday by questioning whether Sen. John McCain -- who spent over five years as a prisoner during the Vietnam War -- is a war hero.

By mid-afternoon, Trump tried to walk back his blunder on Twitter, saying "captured or not, all our soldiers are heroes!"

But his attempt at damage control seemed unlikely to diminish the anger his remarks had caused. They provoked an immediate outcry from his 2016 presidential rivals and the Republican National Committee, which has expressed concern about the impact his controversial remarks on immigration have had on the GOP brand.

For Republicans waiting to pounce on Trump and knock him from his position as the party's leading presidential candidate, the real estate mogul may have handed them an opening.

Donald Trump The guy GOP candidates can t ignore - CNN.com



View attachment 44939

Trump attacks McCain s record as war hero draws rebuke from GOP presidential field Fox News

Most of the 14 other GOP candidates, including some at the summit, immediately criticized Trump’s remarks.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry tweeted that McCain “is an American hero” and that all U.S. prisoners of war “deserve our nation's highest debt of gratitude” and that Trump’s comments are “disgraceful.”

He also called on Trump to apologize and said the comments make him “unfit” to become commander in chief and that he should quit the race.

View attachment 44940

Donald Trump On John McCain s War Record I Like People Who Weren t Captured

..."Perhaps he's a war hero, but right now he's said some very bad things about a lot of people."

McCain spent five and a half years in a North Vietnam prison where he was tortured after his Skyhawk dive bomber was shot down in 1967. President Barack Obama, who defeated McCain in the 2008 presidential race, has praised the Arizona senator as a "genuine war hero."

Trump avoided the draft with four student and one medical deferments.

Trump and McCain have gone back and forth this week after the Arizona senator told The New Yorker that Trump "fired up the crazies" with comments he made about undocumented immigrants during a rally in Phoenix. Trump, in characteristic fashion, fired back on Twitter, calling McCain a "dummy."

Trump said that he would not apologize to McCain for the comments, and defended his deferments to reporters. During a media availability after the comments, he denied that he had questioned McCain's military record.

View attachment 44942

He s Not a War Hero Donald Trump Mocks John McCain s Service - NBC News

Trump, whose own lack of military service has been called into question in the past, said later Saturday that he did not go to war because he was a student at first, and then because of bone spurs in his foot, reported MSNBC. He added that he opposed American military action in Vietnam at the time.

"I was not a big fan of the Vietnam War," Trump said. "I wasn't a protester, but the Vietnam War was a disaster for our country. What did we get out of the Vietnam War other than death? We got nothing."

View attachment 44943

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/us/politics/trump-belittles-mccains-war-record.html

AMES, Iowa — Donald J. Trump has made his name in politics with provocative statements, but it was not until Saturday, after the flamboyant businessman turned presidential candidate belittled Senator John McCain’s war record, that many Republicans concluded that silence or equivocation about Mr. Trump’s incendiary rhetoric was inadequate.

Mr. Trump upended a Republican presidential forum here, and the race more broadly, by saying of the Arizona senator and former prisoner of war: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”...

...Yet Mr. Trump’s comments on Saturday drew condemnation from his rivals and senior officials in the party at a scale far greater than the response to his portrayal of Mexican immigrants as rapists. The response was an indication of the reverence many Republicans have for military service and sacrifice. But it was also something more: their best opening yet to marginalize Mr. Trump.

After weeks when many of them treaded lightly around Mr. Trump, who once again Saturday refused to rule out a third-party run, Republican leaders seized the opportunity to unambiguously speak out against a candidate they see as effectively hijacking their primaries.

Yet for all the outrage among party elites, some attendees at the Christian conservative conference where Mr. Trump made his comments were not nearly as offended, a reminder of the chasm between the Republican power structure and its grass roots.

Also: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/upshot/the-trump-campaigns-turning-point.html?abt=0002&abg=0

Also: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/fir...-candidates-defend-mccain-and-denounce-trump/


View attachment 44945

Is Trump s Campaign Effectively Over - Daniel Doherty

The Townhall link is especially helpful, because it is partly a repository of the massive amount of negative tweets from high-named Republicans all over the place about Trump's neutron bomb over McCain.

But this detail from the Townhall write-up is especially interesting:

Yup. For what it's worth, I voted for McCain for president in 2008, in part, because I read his memoir Faith of My Fathers in college shortly before the election. In it, McCain recalls in precise detail his time at the “Hanoi Hilton” – and the horrors he experienced therein. If memory serves, he more or less had dysentery the entire time he was there, which was five and a half years, and was beaten and tortured repeatedly, too. Moreover, he also refused to accept preferential treatmentduring his captivity when the opportunity presented itself. He is, in my view, a war hero. Period.

Frankly, I’m not really sure what Trump was getting at with his aforementioned comments. I do, however, expect him to suffer the consequences politically for having said them.

View attachment 44946

Trump Goes Ballistic McCain Is War Hero Because He Was Captured

GOP Contenders Slam Trump s Comments About John McCain

(that link is also a repository of Twitter reactions to Trump)

RNC Condemns Donald Trump s Remarks About John McCain

Reacting swiftly to Donald Trump's disparaging remarks Saturday about Sen. John McCain's war service, the Republican National Committee issued a statement saying there was "no place in our party or our country" for such comments.

"Senator McCain is an American hero because he served his country and sacrificed more than most can imagine. Period," said Sean Spicer, the RNC's chief strategist and communications director. "There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably.”

Mitt Romney Piles On Trump For Savaging McCain Trump Fires Back

(that is a tweet war between the two)


View attachment 44947

Donald Trump blasts John McCain over crazies remark He was a hero because he was captured - Washington Times

(that link is the only one I could find from a major news outlet that actually tries to cast this in a positive light. It makes no mention of the GOP criticism of Trump for his neutron bomb)

Rick Perry calls on Donald Trump to end his presidential bid His comments have reached a new low - Washington Times

“As a veteran and an American, I respect Sen. McCain because he volunteered to serve his country. I cannot say the same of Mr. Trump. His comments have reached a new low in American politics,” Mr. Perry said. “His attack on veterans make him unfit to be Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, and he should immediately withdraw from the race for President.”

View attachment 44948

Trump belittles McCain s war service sparking stern Republican backlash - The Washington Post

Donald Trump, the celebrity businessman who has rocketed to the front of the Republican presidential race, flippantly belittled Sen. John McCain’s war service here Saturday, inviting a torrent of criticism from party leaders and other candidates.

“He’s not a war hero,” Trump said of McCain at a summit of 3,000 socially conservative activists. He continued, sarcastically, “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”

For the past month, Republican leaders have cringed privately at Trump’s inflammatory comments about undocumented immigrants from Mexico and have been aghast at his summer surge to the top of the polls. But they have been reluctant or afraid to condemn a candidate whose outbursts have proven both brash and unpredictable.

That dynamic changed suddenly Saturday. Within an hour of Trump’s slam on the Arizona senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee, the floodgates opened.

Also: Trump slams McCain for being captured in Vietnam other Republicans quickly condemn him - The Washington Post


This event even reached the German media:

View attachment 44938

Pr sidentschaftskandidat Hier beleidigt Donald Trump seinen Parteifreund McCain - Videos - DIE WELT

"Here Donald Trump insults his GOP-friend John McCain"


View attachment 44941

Kein Kriegsheld Emp rung nach Trump- u erung ber McCain - N24.de

"Disgust/Umbrage after Trump's comments about McCain"


View attachment 44944

US-Wahlkampf Trump verh hnt Kriegsveteran McCain - Politik - S ddeutsche.de

"Trump ridicules/derides War-Veteran McCain"



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, what kind of effect this will have on Trump and his campaign probably depends on your point of view. Some think he will implode, others think he may actually climb even higher in GOP nomination polling.

Wait and see.

FYI.

Tell me, did McCain do anything besides serve in the military to become a hero?

 

[Stephanie]

It will all be old news by the middle of the week. Sad thing McCain was a hero, then he became a politician, kind of tarnished that sterling image.

yep, the same way Jon (Heinze the ketchup fortune) Kerry did.

 

[blunthead]

well yeah, why do they want to cover some Guy named Mohammed attacking our military men and women. if they can blow Trump smoke up your asses they know many of you will swallow it and spread it around

bravo. you are now officially a useful tool for the DNC/commies

This is your brain on drugs.

Did you just make that phrase up? Wow, cool.

 

[Mac1958]

It will all be old news by the middle of the week. Sad thing McCain was a hero, then he became a politician, kind of tarnished that sterling image.

Well, in fairness, becoming a politician will tarnish any positive image.



.

 

[Stephanie]

It will all be old news by the middle of the week. Sad thing McCain was a hero, then he became a politician, kind of tarnished that sterling image.

Well, in fairness, becoming a politician will tarnish any positive image.



.

Trump doesn't come close to anyone in that nasty Progressive party or beat the nasty man calling himself our President

 

[Statistikhengst]

After claiming in Iowa that former GOP presidential nominee and current Senator John McCain was not a war hero, and then even worse, to say with great sarcasm that, well, he was, because he got captured, but that Trump - who never served and who got deferments - preferred people who didn't get captured, the media is just alight with lots of reporting over this.

I want to note in a way that actually has nothing to do with this content in particular - that just 30 seconds of bombasticism in this very media-oriented, 24/7 news-cycle society, can lead to an avalanche of media coverage and some harsh reactions, to say the least.

So, here are screenshots of (mostly) front page coverage from the major media outlets, plus a sprinkling from outlets on the Left and the Right. Underneath each screenshot are the accompanying links and some quotes that I thought were especially informative.

View attachment 44935

Trump Draws GOP Fire for McCain Remarks at Family Leadership Council Summit - ABC News

Ten Republican Presidential Candidates came to Ames Saturday for the Family Leadership Council summit, but presidential candidate Donald Trump made all the headlines early on in the eight-hour event, not because he’s doing well in the polls, but because of his remarks on former presidential candidate and POW John McCain.

"He's a war hero because he was captured," Trump said at the event, hosted by Iowa social conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats. "I like people who weren’t captured."

It’s a comment that stayed in Stephens Auditorium on the campus of Iowa State University long after Trump left. The nine other speakers were former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, South Carolina Sen.Lindsey Graham, Ben Carson, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. The event was structured as a Q&A format with national pollster Frank Luntz and the audience asking the candidates questions.

View attachment 44936

Donald Trump John McCain only a war hero because he was captured - CBS News

Presidential candidate Donald Trump sparked yet another backlash among his fellow Republican candidates Saturday when he said that Sen. John McCain was only considered a war hero because he was captured - and seemed to mock him for that fact.

"He's not a war hero," Trump said at the Iowa Family Leadership Summit when moderator Frank Luntz brought up McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Immediately modifying his original remarks, Trump said, "He's a war hero 'cause he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, OK?"

"Perhaps he's a war hero, but right now he's said some very bad things about a lot of people," Trump said.

View attachment 44937

Donald Trump questions John McCain s bravery - CNNPolitics.com

Donald Trump ignited a political firestorm Saturday by questioning whether Sen. John McCain -- who spent over five years as a prisoner during the Vietnam War -- is a war hero.

By mid-afternoon, Trump tried to walk back his blunder on Twitter, saying "captured or not, all our soldiers are heroes!"

But his attempt at damage control seemed unlikely to diminish the anger his remarks had caused. They provoked an immediate outcry from his 2016 presidential rivals and the Republican National Committee, which has expressed concern about the impact his controversial remarks on immigration have had on the GOP brand.

For Republicans waiting to pounce on Trump and knock him from his position as the party's leading presidential candidate, the real estate mogul may have handed them an opening.

Donald Trump The guy GOP candidates can t ignore - CNN.com



View attachment 44939

Trump attacks McCain s record as war hero draws rebuke from GOP presidential field Fox News

Most of the 14 other GOP candidates, including some at the summit, immediately criticized Trump’s remarks.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry tweeted that McCain “is an American hero” and that all U.S. prisoners of war “deserve our nation's highest debt of gratitude” and that Trump’s comments are “disgraceful.”

He also called on Trump to apologize and said the comments make him “unfit” to become commander in chief and that he should quit the race.

View attachment 44940

Donald Trump On John McCain s War Record I Like People Who Weren t Captured

..."Perhaps he's a war hero, but right now he's said some very bad things about a lot of people."

McCain spent five and a half years in a North Vietnam prison where he was tortured after his Skyhawk dive bomber was shot down in 1967. President Barack Obama, who defeated McCain in the 2008 presidential race, has praised the Arizona senator as a "genuine war hero."

Trump avoided the draft with four student and one medical deferments.

Trump and McCain have gone back and forth this week after the Arizona senator told The New Yorker that Trump "fired up the crazies" with comments he made about undocumented immigrants during a rally in Phoenix. Trump, in characteristic fashion, fired back on Twitter, calling McCain a "dummy."

Trump said that he would not apologize to McCain for the comments, and defended his deferments to reporters. During a media availability after the comments, he denied that he had questioned McCain's military record.

View attachment 44942

He s Not a War Hero Donald Trump Mocks John McCain s Service - NBC News

Trump, whose own lack of military service has been called into question in the past, said later Saturday that he did not go to war because he was a student at first, and then because of bone spurs in his foot, reported MSNBC. He added that he opposed American military action in Vietnam at the time.

"I was not a big fan of the Vietnam War," Trump said. "I wasn't a protester, but the Vietnam War was a disaster for our country. What did we get out of the Vietnam War other than death? We got nothing."

View attachment 44943

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/us/politics/trump-belittles-mccains-war-record.html

AMES, Iowa — Donald J. Trump has made his name in politics with provocative statements, but it was not until Saturday, after the flamboyant businessman turned presidential candidate belittled Senator John McCain’s war record, that many Republicans concluded that silence or equivocation about Mr. Trump’s incendiary rhetoric was inadequate.

Mr. Trump upended a Republican presidential forum here, and the race more broadly, by saying of the Arizona senator and former prisoner of war: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”...

...Yet Mr. Trump’s comments on Saturday drew condemnation from his rivals and senior officials in the party at a scale far greater than the response to his portrayal of Mexican immigrants as rapists. The response was an indication of the reverence many Republicans have for military service and sacrifice. But it was also something more: their best opening yet to marginalize Mr. Trump.

After weeks when many of them treaded lightly around Mr. Trump, who once again Saturday refused to rule out a third-party run, Republican leaders seized the opportunity to unambiguously speak out against a candidate they see as effectively hijacking their primaries.

Yet for all the outrage among party elites, some attendees at the Christian conservative conference where Mr. Trump made his comments were not nearly as offended, a reminder of the chasm between the Republican power structure and its grass roots.

Also: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/upshot/the-trump-campaigns-turning-point.html?abt=0002&abg=0

Also: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/fir...-candidates-defend-mccain-and-denounce-trump/


View attachment 44945

Is Trump s Campaign Effectively Over - Daniel Doherty

The Townhall link is especially helpful, because it is partly a repository of the massive amount of negative tweets from high-named Republicans all over the place about Trump's neutron bomb over McCain.

But this detail from the Townhall write-up is especially interesting:

Yup. For what it's worth, I voted for McCain for president in 2008, in part, because I read his memoir Faith of My Fathers in college shortly before the election. In it, McCain recalls in precise detail his time at the “Hanoi Hilton” – and the horrors he experienced therein. If memory serves, he more or less had dysentery the entire time he was there, which was five and a half years, and was beaten and tortured repeatedly, too. Moreover, he also refused to accept preferential treatmentduring his captivity when the opportunity presented itself. He is, in my view, a war hero. Period.

Frankly, I’m not really sure what Trump was getting at with his aforementioned comments. I do, however, expect him to suffer the consequences politically for having said them.

View attachment 44946

Trump Goes Ballistic McCain Is War Hero Because He Was Captured

GOP Contenders Slam Trump s Comments About John McCain

(that link is also a repository of Twitter reactions to Trump)

RNC Condemns Donald Trump s Remarks About John McCain

Reacting swiftly to Donald Trump's disparaging remarks Saturday about Sen. John McCain's war service, the Republican National Committee issued a statement saying there was "no place in our party or our country" for such comments.

"Senator McCain is an American hero because he served his country and sacrificed more than most can imagine. Period," said Sean Spicer, the RNC's chief strategist and communications director. "There is no place in our party or our country for comments that disparage those who have served honorably.”

Mitt Romney Piles On Trump For Savaging McCain Trump Fires Back

(that is a tweet war between the two)


View attachment 44947

Donald Trump blasts John McCain over crazies remark He was a hero because he was captured - Washington Times

(that link is the only one I could find from a major news outlet that actually tries to cast this in a positive light. It makes no mention of the GOP criticism of Trump for his neutron bomb)

Rick Perry calls on Donald Trump to end his presidential bid His comments have reached a new low - Washington Times

“As a veteran and an American, I respect Sen. McCain because he volunteered to serve his country. I cannot say the same of Mr. Trump. His comments have reached a new low in American politics,” Mr. Perry said. “His attack on veterans make him unfit to be Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, and he should immediately withdraw from the race for President.”

View attachment 44948

Trump belittles McCain s war service sparking stern Republican backlash - The Washington Post

Donald Trump, the celebrity businessman who has rocketed to the front of the Republican presidential race, flippantly belittled Sen. John McCain’s war service here Saturday, inviting a torrent of criticism from party leaders and other candidates.

“He’s not a war hero,” Trump said of McCain at a summit of 3,000 socially conservative activists. He continued, sarcastically, “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”

For the past month, Republican leaders have cringed privately at Trump’s inflammatory comments about undocumented immigrants from Mexico and have been aghast at his summer surge to the top of the polls. But they have been reluctant or afraid to condemn a candidate whose outbursts have proven both brash and unpredictable.

That dynamic changed suddenly Saturday. Within an hour of Trump’s slam on the Arizona senator and 2008 GOP presidential nominee, the floodgates opened.

Also: Trump slams McCain for being captured in Vietnam other Republicans quickly condemn him - The Washington Post


This event even reached the German media:

View attachment 44938

Pr sidentschaftskandidat Hier beleidigt Donald Trump seinen Parteifreund McCain - Videos - DIE WELT

"Here Donald Trump insults his GOP-friend John McCain"


View attachment 44941

Kein Kriegsheld Emp rung nach Trump- u erung ber McCain - N24.de

"Disgust/Umbrage after Trump's comments about McCain"


View attachment 44944

US-Wahlkampf Trump verh hnt Kriegsveteran McCain - Politik - S ddeutsche.de

"Trump ridicules/derides War-Veteran McCain"



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, what kind of effect this will have on Trump and his campaign probably depends on your point of view. Some think he will implode, others think he may actually climb even higher in GOP nomination polling.

Wait and see.

FYI.

Tell me, did McCain do anything besides serve in the military to become a hero?

I am sorry. If you don't understand the concept of valor, I cannot help you.

His military story is well documented. I recommend that you read it. Well, assuming that it's not too many words for you.

 

[Statistikhengst]

It will all be old news by the middle of the week. Sad thing McCain was a hero, then he became a politician, kind of tarnished that sterling image.

Well, in fairness, becoming a politician will tarnish any positive image.



.

There is a grain of truth in this....

....a grain...

 

[Stephanie]

oh darn. the Democrats who created this monster (blacklivesonlymattersincertaintimes) and they are now EATING their own Democrats. you think the NY post, NYslimes, WashingtonCompost will report on this? I'm loving it. VIDEO at the site. ENJOY

SNIP:
Breaking: #BlackLivesMatter Mob Takes Over #Netroots – Heckles O’Malley Off Stage (VIDEO)

Jim Hoft Jul 18th, 2015 10:08 pm 39 Comments

You built this…
All hell broke loose at the progressive Netroots Nation conference this weekend. Activists for #BlackLivesMatter basically staged a mutiny and took over the stage.

Democratic Party presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley got heckled as they were trying to speak.

O’Malley was eventually booed off stage after saying “all lives matter.”
Because, according to the mob, all lives do not matter!

The activists told the leftist crowd:

“It’s not like we want to shut the sh*t down. But we have to.”

They booed the former governor throughout his speech!
ALL of it here:
Breaking BlackLivesMatter Mob Takes Over Netroots - Heckles O Malley Off Stage VIDEO - The Gateway Pundit

 

[ScienceRocks]

It will all be old news by the middle of the week. Sad thing McCain was a hero, then he became a politician, kind of tarnished that sterling image.

You hate him because he cares for America and keeping America powerful. Can't be investing in America and keeping the evil small government base happy...Oh'noo'ssss. what a crock.

 

[Statistikhengst]

oh darn. the Democrats who created this monster (blacklivesonlymattersincertaintimes) and they are now EATING their own Democrats. you think the NY post, NYslimes, WashingtonCompost will report on this? I'm loving it. VIDEO at the site. ENJOY

SNIP:
Breaking: #BlackLivesMatter Mob Takes Over #Netroots – Heckles O’Malley Off Stage (VIDEO)

Jim Hoft Jul 18th, 2015 10:08 pm 39 Comments

You built this…
All hell broke loose at the progressive Netroots Nation conference this weekend. Activists for #BlackLivesMatter basically staged a mutiny and took over the stage.

Democratic Party presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley got heckled as they were trying to speak.

O’Malley was eventually booed off stage after saying “all lives matter.”
Because, according to the mob, all lives do not matter!

The activists told the leftist crowd:

“It’s not like we want to shut the sh*t down. But we have to.”

They booed the former governor throughout his speech!
ALL of it here:
Breaking BlackLivesMatter Mob Takes Over Netroots - Heckles O Malley Off Stage VIDEO - The Gateway Pundit

Stephanie, that is not the topic of this thread.

Are you mentally ill, or what?

 

[Stephanie]

It will all be old news by the middle of the week. Sad thing McCain was a hero, then he became a politician, kind of tarnished that sterling image.

You hate him because he cares for America and keeping America powerful. Can't be investing in America and keeping the evil small government base happy...Oh'noo'ssss. what a crock.

No one hates him. we are tried of being stabbed in the back by him as a Career Politician and calling himself a Republican

 

[Statistikhengst]

It will all be old news by the middle of the week. Sad thing McCain was a hero, then he became a politician, kind of tarnished that sterling image.

You hate him because he cares for America and keeping America powerful. Can't be investing in America and keeping the evil small government base happy...Oh'noo'ssss. what a crock.

No one hates him. we are tried of being stabbed in the back by him as a Career Politician and calling himself a Republican

But he IS a Republican and the American Conservative Union gives him a high score, placing him among the most Conservative Senators in the US Senate:

The American Conservative UnionFederal Legislative Ratings

2014: 91 out of 100, lifetime score 82.13

You are just butthurt because he says some things you don't like.

 

[JoeB131]

Probably won't effect Trump's standing, because most of the Mouth Breathers in the GOP base have never forgiven McCain for 1) Challenging Bush, 2) Proposing Amnesty and 3) Losing to Obama.

 

[JoeB131]

but but but we are supposed to OUTRAGED over something Trump said about McCain. wake up people they play this game on you all THE TIME. it's the left/dem/commie tried and true dirty politics. Video at the site

Staph, why can't you ever discuss the issue at hand?