--- description: Arizona Sen. John McCain said on Monday that Donald Trump should apologize to veterans for his remarks title: John McCain Says Donald Trump Owes Veterans an Apology image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt603ebe59c413f836/69885b8b35ba6ff147c0e414/john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # John McCain Says Donald Trump Owes Veterans an Apology by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 20, 2015 12:45 PM CUT  Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks during a committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 7, 2015. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks during a committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 7, 2015.Carolyn Kaster—AP by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 20, 2015 12:45 PM CUT Arizona Sen. John McCain said on Monday that [Donald Trump does not owe him an apology](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/john-mccain-donald-trump-owes-veterans-apology "undefined") for [saying the Vietnam veteran is a war hero only “because he was captured”](http://time.com/3963612/donald-trump-john-mccain-military-service/ "undefined")—but that he should apologize to other vets. Asked whether Trump should apologize to him for the widely-criticized remarks, McCain said on MSNBC: “I don’t think so. I think he may 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.” “The great honor of my life was to serve in the company of heroes,” McCain added. “I’m not a hero. but those who were my senior ranking officers, people that got the Congressional Medal of Honor winner, those that inspired us to do things we otherwise would not have been capable of doing—those are the people that I think he owes an apology to.” It’s the first time that McCain has weighed in on Trump’s incendiary comments about him over the weekend. In an appearance in Iowa, Trump said McCain “is not a war hero,” and then added: “He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.” “It’s just totally inappropriate for Mr. Trump to say that he doesn’t like to be with people who were captured,” McCain said. McCain spent over five years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam after his plane was shot down. Trump avoided the Vietnam War draft and held a comfortable job at his father’s real estate company. A slew of Republican presidential candidates came to McCain’s defense over the weekend, lambasting Trump and calling for him to apologize for attacking McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee. Secretary of State John Kerry, also a decorated Vietnam war veteran, called McCain “a hero, a man of grit and guts and character personified” for refusing early repatriation to the United States. [Trump doubled down on his attacks on McCain late Sunday, saying the longtime senator has failed veterans.](http://time.com/3963975/donald-trump-john-mccain-2016-presidential-election/ "undefined") ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3964229/donald-trump-john-mccain-war-hero-apology/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3964229/donald-trump-john-mccain-war-hero-apology/"},"headline":"John McCain Says Donald Trump Owes Veterans an Apology","datePublished":"2015-07-20T12:45:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:24.676Z","description":"“It’s just totally inappropriate\" McCain said of Trump's comments","url":"https://time.com/3964229/donald-trump-john-mccain-war-hero-apology/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","John McCain","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt603ebe59c413f836/69885b8b35ba6ff147c0e414/john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt603ebe59c413f836/69885b8b35ba6ff147c0e414/john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"John McCain","caption":"John McCain","creditText":"Carolyn Kaster—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3964229/donald-trump-john-mccain-war-hero-apology/","name":"John McCain Says Donald Trump Owes Veterans an Apology"}}]}] ```