John McCain says Donald Trump owes POWs an apology


After Donald Trump faced bipartisan outrage over the weekend for claiming that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) isn't a 'real war hero,' McCain responded in an MSNBC interview Monday with his first public comments.
Trump "owes an apology to the families of those who have sacrificed in conflict and those who have undergone a prison experience in serving their country," the former POW said. McCain added that while "the great honor in my life was to serve in the company of heroes, I'm not a hero," and that he personally didn't need an apology.
"Who are the real heroes? They're the 55,000 names down on the wall, engraved in black granite that I stop by sometimes early in the morning and when the sun's going down," McCain said, referring to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In his interview, McCain added that he hadn't meant to offend anyone when he called Trump supporters "crazies." "I thought it was a term of endearment," McCain joked. Watch the full interview, below. Jeva Lange
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Is this the end of the late-night chat show?
Talking Point Totems of US media landscape 'seem like relics of a bygone era' as ad revenues plummet and viewers switch to YouTube, TikTok and podcasts
-
Keep the fun going with these 7 subscription gift boxes
The Week Recommends Bring the party to their mailbox
-
Babies born using 3 people's DNA are without hereditary disease
Under the radar The method could eliminate mutations for future generations
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
-
President diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency'
Speed Read The vein disorder has given Trump swollen ankles and visible bruising on his hands
-
'Bawdy' Trump letter supercharges Epstein scandal
Speed Read The Wall Street Journal published details of Trump's alleged birthday letter to Epstein
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing line
Speed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein files
speed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checks
Speed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for Arizona
Speed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year