GOP presidential contender Donald Trump faced heat on multiple fronts Sunday for his controversial comments about Republican Senator John McCain’s military record.
“This is not just an insult to John McCain, who clearly is a war hero and a great man. But it’s an insult to all POWs, to all men and women who have served us in uniform who have been captured in battle,” Florida Senator and fellow GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Rubio added, “He’s saying that somehow if you’re captured in battle, you’re less worthy of honors than someone who isn’t. It’s not just absurd. It’s offensive. It’s ridiculous. And I do think it is a disqualifier as commander in chief.”
Meanwhile, over on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” former Clinton campaign adviser and Democratic Fox News contributor Jehmu Greene took several shots at Trump.
“I don’t think for Democrats or anyone who is American, you could relish in the laughingstock that Donald Trump is making of our political system,” said Greene.
She went on to praise the GOP for finally denouncing Trump after tolerating his “douchebaggery” for years.
“This is just a continuation of his douchebaggery and has been accepted for so long by Republicans that finally they’ve come to their senses because, I guess, he has now finally crossed the line. But he crossed many lines quite some time ago. Let’s end this.”
Trump didn’t find any friends on NBC’s “Meet the Press” either.
Moderator and Trump nemesis Chuck Todd described the real estate mogul as a “clown,” while his guest, GOP presidential candidate and former Texas governor Rick Perry, said Trump’s comments show he’s unfit to lead the nation.
“[It’s] more over-the-top, bombastic rhetoric from Donald Trump. This time he’s been able to offend one of the most beloved groups in America, and that’s our veterans,” Perry said. “I just really don’t understand his strategy here of taking on a bullet that went through John McCain and hit a lot of us that wore the uniform of this country. This is really offensive. We need someone to be bringing this country together.”
Trump sparked this latest controversy Saturday when he attacked McCain because he was captured and held prisoner in Vietnam.
“He’s not a war hero,” the outspoken candidate told the Family Leadership Summit. “He’s a war hero ’cause he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”
The real estate mogul made the remarks in response to McCain’s criticism of Trump’s comments last month when he called Mexican immigrants “rapists,” among other things.
Trump, who was recently dumped as host of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” went on to say that he disliked McCain since his loss to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
“I never liked him after that,” Trump said. “Because I don’t like losers.”
For his part, Trump responded to the backlash Sunday in a telephone interview with Fox News.
“If you’re a veteran, you’re treated like a third-class citizen. So John McCain should not be proud of his record with respect to taking care of veterans,” Trump said. “Like all politicians, he’s all talk and he’s no action.”
He also tweeted similar comments: “The Veterans Administration is in shambles and our veterans are suffering greatly. John McCain has done nothing to help them but talk.”
Watch the video from “State of the Union” above, and “Fox & Friends Weekend” and “Meet the Press” below