Donald Trump is a "jackass" for saying Sen. John McCain is not a war hero, McCain's friend and fellow senator, Lindsey Graham, told CNN on Monday.
"He is bringing his name down and he is not helping the process. And he shouldn't be commander in chief," Graham, a Trump rival in the GOP presidential race, told
CNN's "Out Front."
"If you want to be commander in chief of the armed forces, you need to understand that John McCain and all like him, not just John, are truly American heroes," Graham said. "When you put yourself in harm's way, that makes you a hero."
Trump sparked a firestorm in the Republican Party when he said Saturday that McCain was not a war hero and is viewed as such only because of his five-plus years as a prisoner of war in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" in North Vietnam. McCain still is unable to raise his arms above his head because of the injuries he suffered.
"I like people who weren't captured," Trump said.
The billionaire businessman, Graham said, "is becoming a jackass at a time when we need to have a serious debate about the future of the party and the country. We're on the verge of giving an Iranian ayatollah who is a radical jihadist a pathway to a nuclear bomb. … We are becoming Greece here at home."
Despite
his rising poll numbers, Trump has crossed a line, Graham said. "This is the beginning of the end of Donald Trump."
When told he seemed angry, Graham replied, "I am really pissed."
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