GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday made fun of Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) military service during a question-and-answer session at the the 2015 Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa.
The New York business mogul taunted McCain’s six years as a prisoner during the Vietnam War.
“He was a war hero because he was captured,” Trump sarcastically told host Frank Luntz during the 2015 Family Leadership Summit. “I like people who weren’t captured.”
{mosads}The quip came after Luntz challenged Trump over his criticism of McCain’s political career.
The pollster questioned Trump’s verbal attacks given he is a “war hero.”
“I supported McCain for president,” Trump said of McCain’s 2008 GOP presidential campaign.
“He lost and let us down,” Trump said, arguing he had spent $1 million on McCain’s Oval Office bid.
“I’ve never liked him as much after that,” he added. “I don’t like losers.”
Trump was taking issue with McCain’s critique of his July 11 rally against illegal immigration in Phoenix.
McCain argued in an interview published Thursday that the event energized the right wing’s most extreme members.
“It’s very bad,” he said of Trump’s Phoenix rally earlier this month.
“This performance with our friend out in Phoenix is very hurtful,” McCain said.
“Because what he did was he fired up the crazies,” he added. “Now he galvanized them. He’s really got them activated.”
Trump countered Saturday that McCain’s remarks were insulting to the Americans supporting his policies on illegal immigration.
“15,000 people showed up to hear me speak,” Trump said of the Phoenix event, adding that it was “beautiful.”
“He called them all crazy,” he added of McCain. “I know all about crazies, and those weren’t crazies.”
Trump also said he is forcing a national discussion about border security and illegal immigration policies.
“I’m so proud of the fact I got a dialogue started on illegal immigration,” he said. “I’m very happy.”
“I took a lot of abuse,” Trump added of the backlash against his immigration rhetoric. “It turned out I was right.”
Trump sparked international outrage during his 2016 campaign launch last month.
The outspoken billionaire provoked public backlash by harshly criticizing Hispanic immigrants and Mexico on June 16.
“They’re sending people who have a lot of problems,” Trump said during the address at Trump Tower in New York City.
“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” he added. “And some, I assume, are good people.”
Trump argued Saturday that politicians should avoid sensitivity while dealing with issues as important as immigration.
“We’re so politically correct we can’t move people anymore,” he said. “We want results, we don’t want tone.”
– Updated at 12:56 p.m.