Trump lambasted for remarks about McCain

The terms “elder statesman” and “hero” get thrown around so much that they’ve almost become cliché. But the terms apply quite accurately to Sen. John McCain. The former prisoner of war’s very name commands respect from Republicans and Democrats alike—and rightly so.

Considering all that, it’s almost unfathomable that Donald Trump has made out-of-the-blue criticism of McCain the latest central issue in his bewildering presidential campaign.

If you missed it, Trump went to a Family League Summit in Iowa over the weekend and said the following about McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down in Vietnam: “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

He also told the event’s moderator that he supported McCain’s 2008 presidential bid with $1 million in campaign contributions. “I’ve never liked him as much after that,” Trump said. “I don’t like losers.”