UPDATED: Trump Says McCain Is ‘Not A War Hero,’ Walks It Back, Gets Slammed By GOP Rivals

Donald Trump is taking serious fire from many GOP rivals for his comments attacking John McCain’s war record. 

At a campaign event in Ames, Iowa, Donald Trump continued his attacks on John McCain, after the U.S. Senator and 2008 Republican Party presidential nominee had called Trump’s followers “crazies.”

“He’s not a war hero,” Trump told Family Leadership Summit moderator Frank Luntz. McCain spent more than five years as a POW in Vietnam, including two years in solitary confinement.

After the audience seemed unsure of how to respond, Trump immediately revised his remarks.

“He’s a war hero ’cause he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK?,” Trump offered, explaining that he had supported McCain in 2008 by raising a million dollars for his campaign. Trump also lamented McCain losing the election because “he let us down. I never liked him as much after that ’cause I don’t like losers.”

“Perhaps he’s a war hero, but right now he’s said some very bad things about a lot of people,” Trump ultimately said.

It took Republicans 18 days to finally offer some criticism or concern over Trump’s jingoistic and racist remarks during his speech announcing he was entering the presidential race, but today Republicans were finally quick to unleash their attacks.

Noticeably absent from commenting on Trump’s remarks as of this writing are Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, George Pataki, and RNC Chair Reince Priebus.

UPDATE I: 2:54 PM EDT –

They are late to respond, but some of the above “noticeably absent” candidates are starting to weigh in:

UPDATE II: 3:13 PM EDT –

 

 

Video, top via CBS News
Image: Screenshot via CNN embedded video/Twitter