WASHINGTON—Sen. John McCain said Monday Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump doesn’t need to apologize to him for remarks about his long captivity in Vietnam, but should tell veterans and their families that he’s sorry.
Trump, meanwhile, leveled new criticism against the Arizona Republican and 2008 GOP presidential nominee, saying McCain had made America “less safe” through his votes in Congress.
The continuing rhetoric came as Trump’s fellow Republican presidential hopefuls criticized his remarks last week, in which the flamboyant businessman dismissed McCain’s reputation as a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam and “I like people who weren’t captured.”
“When Mr. Trump says he prefers to be with people who are not captured, the great honor of my life was to be in the company of heroes,” McCain said Monday on MCNBC’s “Morning Joe.” But the occasionally fiery McCain had a calm demeanor, saying simply: “I am not a hero.”
At another point in his interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” he said, “I’m in the (political) arena,” suggesting he’s fair game for criticism as a U.S. senator.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said McCain had handled the matter just right.
