GOP lawmaker: Trump’s McCain attack a ‘slap in the face’

Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) slammed Donald Trump for disparaging fellow former prisoner of war Sen. John McCain’s military service.

Johnson, who has served in the House since 1991, said that Trump’s remarks over the weekend mocking the Arizona Republican for being captured during the Vietnam War were insulting to all American POWs.

“When Trump said ‘I like people who weren’t captured,’ that’s just one more slap in the face to ALL FAITHFUL American POWs, whether it’s Louis Zamperini, Jim Stockdale, or your own quiet family member who doesn’t like to relive those days of torture,” Johnson said in a statement to The Hill.

Trump suggested during the 2015 Family Leadership Summit on Saturday that McCain didn’t deserve recognition as a war hero.

{mosads}“He was a war hero because he was captured,” Trump sarcastically told host Frank Luntz. “I like people who weren’t captured.”

McCain was as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for six years and still bears scars from torture during his stay in the so-called “Hanoi Hilton.” 

Johnson similarly spent seven years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi, including three and a half years in solitary confinement. 

“These individuals deserve our utmost respect. As a Prisoner of War for nearly seven years, more than half of that time in solitary confinement, I promise you I don’t feel like a hero, but I do know that with the help of God I did my best to defy my captors, stand up for freedom, and return with honor,” Johnson said.

McCain said Monday that Trump didn’t owe him a personal apology, but should express regret about his comments to all prisoners of war.

“He might owe an apology to the families of those who have sacrificed in conflict and those who have undergone the prison experience in serving their country,” McCain said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.””

McCain may have drawn Trump’s ire after describing attendees at the real estate mogul’s rally in Arizona as “crazies.”

Trump so far has refused to back down from his comments, despite criticism from fellow Republican presidential contenders like Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), as well as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.