Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump slammed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a decorated Vietnam War veteran, on Saturday by saying McCain was not a war hero because he was captured by the North Vietnamese.No doubt in the mind of The Donald, wounded vets are to blame for having been wounded.
"He's not a war hero," Trump said. Sarcastically, Trump quipped, "He's a war hero because he was captured." Then, he added, "I like people that weren't captured."
Trump would have been 19 in 1965. He graduated college in 1968, which was a year when the draft boards were going full steam to fill up the Army's ranks. But Trump couldn't have been a draft-dodger, for if you believe the party line, only Democrats dodged the draft. Republicans back then, on the other hand, "had other priorities" than serving their country in time of war.
Trump is the worst type of chickenhawk: A man who didn't serve and who is willing to throw rocks at those who did.
Update: Andy Borowitz chimes in.
This is more theater for the masses. Get 'em riled up, so you can point to the other contenders as being more 'moderate'. He is doing this because he can, not because he has an ice cube chance in heck of ever being in the White House, except as a guest on a public tour of the place.
ReplyDeleteOnly candidates who (in five polls favored by Fox) land in the top ten spots will be on the Fox 'debate' stage. Thus, the more attention a candidate gets, the more their poll numbers go up based on name recognition and media coverage of what they've said. Fling lots of poo at the medias' rotating blades, and see it go all over the place...
Not a bad racked for Fox, either. To get your candidate out there, you need to buy ads. Fox is the reliable hunting ground for (R) eyeballs, so Super PAC's and others will be pouring money into Foxs coffers to boost their chosen candidate in the polls. Win/win for Fox, with the ability to charge whatever they want to the campaigns.
Trump hit a home run with illegals, but he struck out on this one. McCain is one of my least-favorite Republicans but he still earned this nation's respect dor his service, both before and after his shoot-down and capture. Trump can go screw a waterfowl on this one.
ReplyDeleteMurphy's Law: I disagree. It allows the (D)'s to point out how the (R)'s treated Kerry, Cleland, and Duckworth's service. Puts a little focus on how much they respect someones military service - if you're a (D) it is suspect, if you're an (R) it is unassailable.
ReplyDeleteI think it was J A Denton, a friend and fellow POW, that observed that McCain had suffered some sort of mental damage/disorder during their captivity, and that he never recovered. Denton attributed his odd behavior, particularly after release, to this problem, and specifically mentions his political posturing.
ReplyDeleteIn a Six Degrees of Separation connection: In the latter 80's, I worked at a small laser company that had one of those Hanoi Hilton "guests" as a VP. Never got a chance to chat with him before the company got split up, and my dept was sold to the Germans. Found out about him too late.