Trump of McCain - I Like People Who Weren't Captured. McCain of Trump - I Like People Who Weren't Shot

In July 2015, during a campaign event in Ames, Iowa, Donald Trump made controversial remarks about John McCain. Trump said, "He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured"

John McCain was not drafted during Vietnam. He enlisted.

McCain was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for 5 years and 10 months, from October 26, 1967, until his release on March 14, 1973.

After being captured and enduring severe injuries and torture, McCain was offered early release by his captors in 1968. This offer came because his father, Admiral John S. McCain Jr., was a high-ranking naval officer and had been named Commander-in-Chief of Pacific Command.

However, McCain refused the offer of early release, adhering to the military code of conduct, which stipulates that prisoners should be released in the order they were captured. McCain believed it was important to maintain solidarity with his fellow prisoners and to prevent the enemy from using his release for propaganda purposes. He insisted that those captured before him be released first​​. This decision resulted in McCain enduring additional years of brutal treatment and torture until his eventual release in 1973.

The reason McCain was unable to lift his arms over his head was due to the torture and harsh treatment he endured during his captivity. After being shot down and captured, McCain was subjected to severe beatings, torture, and was often kept in solitary confinement. His injuries included broken arms and a broken leg, and the inadequate medical treatment he received exacerbated his condition. The physical abuse led to lasting damage, particularly to his shoulders, which is why he had difficulty lifting his arms above his head.

Imagine dismissing all that with the comment, "He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured" It would be as if McCain were still alive and said of Trump, "I like candidates who weren't shot." The idea that someone would dismiss an assassination attempt should horrify you - nearly as much the idea that any candidate aspiring to be Commander of Chief would dismiss the ordeal of a POW.

For the MAGA crowd, enduring years of torture by a military enemy is to be dismissed. Shot at by a deranged teenager is to be reverenced.

And of course when you're in a cult, you can't trust your own judgement about whether something is to be ridiculed or reverenced until you know what the cult leader thinks. So now Republicans know - one is supposed to dismiss the suffering of a Prisoner of War but show sympathy and outrage for someone attacked by a would-be assassin. Well, they are half right. Pity that echoing Trump's mood and philosophy doesn't quite allow someone to be fully human.