Donald Trump has been questioning John McCain's heroism for years

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Outrage machine Donald Trump has been spewing controversial opinions nonstop since he launched his presidential campaign in June. On Saturday he finally managed to irk even the Republican National Committee when he questioned whether Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is truly a war hero for his Navy service in Vietnam and subsequent capture.

"He's a war hero because he was captured," Trump said at a summit in Iowa. "I like people that weren't captured."

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Rather: (Voiceover) The way Trump looks at it, he's at least better than everyone else in the race, beginning with John McCain.Trump: I mean, he was captured.Rather: (Voiceover) And he flew combat missions with distinction.Trump: Does being captured make you a hero? I don't know. I'm not sure. [BuzzFeed News]

Meanwhile, Trump claimed he actually called McCain a war hero several times in his comments Saturday, but PolitiFact isn't having it.

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.