Donald Trump ripped into Arizona Sen. John McCain Thursday for dissing supporters of the hard-charging real estate billionaire's presidential campaign.
The former 2008 GOP presidential nominee complained in a New Yorker interview that Trump's rally in Phoenix last Saturday
"fired up the crazies."
But Trump turned the heat instead on McCain, demanding that he apologize:
and by calling him a "dummy":
The blunt blast is
in sharp contrast to 2008, when Trump enthusiastically endorsed McCain, saying on "Larry King Live" that, "I'm with him, and I'm with him based on the fact that I have great knowledge of John McCain."
And in another verbal hug on CNN the same year, Trump called McCain not only "a tough guy," but "a smart guy."
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"He's a very, very bright guy. He's just a quality human being," Trump said, adding: "He is a man worthy of respect. And this country no longer has respect. What we need more than anything else is just that word: Respect."