--- description: Donald Trump lashed out at his growing chorus of critics, rebuffing calls that he apologize for saying that John McCain is "not a war hero" title: Donald Trump Doubles Down on John McCain Attacks image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25123c530dd49bf6/69885b8ecd68482bd50a0dff/donald-trump-2-copy.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 # Donald Trump Doubles Down on John McCain Attacks by [Alissa Greenberg](/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:18 AM CUTPublished: Jul 20, 2015 6:00 AM CUT  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa on July 18, 2015. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa on July 18, 2015.Jim Young—Reuters by [Alissa Greenberg](/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:18 AM CUTPublished: Jul 20, 2015 6:00 AM CUT Donald Trump [lashed out](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/07/19/donald-trump-republican-party-presidential-candidate-editorials-debates/30389993/ "undefined") at [his growing chorus of critics late Sunday](http://time.com/3963685/donald-trump-john-mccain/ "undefined"), rebuffing calls that he apologize for saying that Arizona Sen. John McCain is “not a war hero” with new attacks on the GOP elder statesman’s record on veterans issues. “The reality is that John McCain the politician has made America less safe, sent our brave soldiers into wrong-headed foreign adventures, covered up for President Obama with the VA scandal and has spent most of his time in the Senate pushing amnesty,” Trump wrote in a _USA Today_ op-ed. He would rather protect the Iraqi border than Arizona’s.” And he scoffed at calls from his rivals in the Republican presidential race that he apologize and drop out of the contest. “A number of my competitors for the Republican nomination have no business running for president,” he wrote. “I do not need to be lectured by any of them.” Trump’s comments about McCain over the weekend opened the floodgates of criticism from Republican rivals and leaders, who had previously been wary of attacking him or alienating his growing legions of supporters, even after he referred to Mexican immigrants as “rapists” during his campaign announcement speech. “McCain has abandoned our veterans,” Trump wrote Sunday. “I will fight for them.” [Read more at _USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/07/19/donald-trump-republican-party-presidential-candidate-editorials-debates/30389993/ "undefined") ### See the 2016 Candidates' Campaign Launches  Sen. Ted Cruz kicked off his campaign for 2016 Republican presidential nomination at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. on March 23. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images  Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul launched his bid for the Republican nomination at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville on April 7\. Supporters held signs with the slogan "Defeat the Washington Machine / Unleash the American Dream." Amy Harris—Corbis  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced her campaign in a YouTube video posted April 12 that has been seen nearly 4.5 million times. One boy featured in the video boasted about playing a fish in a school play. Hillary For America  Florida Sen. Marco Rubio announced his campaign for the Republican nomination during a rally at the Freedom Tower in Miami on April 13\. He took a drink of water during the speech, a callback to his State of the Union response in 2013. Wilfredo Lee—AP  Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his bid for the Democratic nomination across the street from the U.S. Capitol on April 30, 2015\. The backdrop was unusual, since most candidates rail against Washington. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson announced his bid for the Republican nomination at the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts May 4, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. The launch featured a gospel choir covering Eminem's "Lose Yourself." Bill Pugliano—Getty Images  Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced her campaign for the Republican nomination in a conference call on May 4, then went on "Good Morning America" to talk to George Stephanopoulos. Lou Rocco—Getty Images  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his campaign at a community college in his hometown of Hope, Ark., on May 5\. Singer Tony Orlando (right) performed. Left: Danny Johnston; Right: Matt Sullivan—Getty Images  Republican presidential candidate and former New York Governor George Pataki (C) greets supporters after formally announcing his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Exeter, N.H. on May 28, 2015. Dominick Reuter—Reuters  Former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee announces his candidacy for the democratic presidential nomination at George Mason University in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announces his 2016 presidential candidacy in Central, S.C. on June 1, 2015. Erik S. Lesser—EPA  Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is joined by his wife Katie O'Malley (R) as he announces his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a speech at Federal Hill Park in Baltimore on May 30, 2015. Jim Bourg—Reuters  Former Texas governor Rick Perry announces his candidacy for Republican presidential nominee at an event held at Addison Airport in Addison, Texas on Thursday, June 4, 2015. Louis DeLuca—Dallas Morning News/Corbis  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush waves on stage as he announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during an event at Miami-Dade College - Kendall Campus in Miami on June 15 , 2015. Joe Raedle—Getty Images  Donald Trump holds up his financial statement showing his net worth as he formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during an event at Trump Tower in New York City on June 16, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Kenner, La. on June 24, 2015. Jonathan Bachman—Reuters  Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie formally announces his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally at Livingston High School in Livingston, N.J. on June 30, 2015. Brendan McDermid—Reuters  Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker greets supporters after announcing that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in Waukesha, Wis. on July 13, 2015 . Scott Olson—Getty Images  Ohio Governor John Kasich arrives on stage to formally announce his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally in Columbus, Ohio on July 21, 2015. Aaron P. Bernstein—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3963975/donald-trump-john-mccain-2016-presidential-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3963975/donald-trump-john-mccain-2016-presidential-election/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Doubles Down on John McCain Attacks","datePublished":"2015-07-20T06:00:09.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T04:18:13.000Z","description":"\"I do not need to be lectured\"","url":"https://time.com/3963975/donald-trump-john-mccain-2016-presidential-election/","keywords":["2016 Election","republicans","2016 Election topic","John McCain","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25123c530dd49bf6/69885b8ecd68482bd50a0dff/donald-trump-2-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alissa Greenberg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25123c530dd49bf6/69885b8ecd68482bd50a0dff/donald-trump-2-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump Iowa","caption":"Donald Trump Iowa","creditText":"Jim Young—Reuters","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/3963975/donald-trump-john-mccain-2016-presidential-election/","name":"Donald Trump Doubles Down on John McCain Attacks"}}]}] ```