Beloved by New Hampshire’s Republicans, Senator John McCain enjoys membership in a rare club as a two-time winner of the state’s competitive presidential primaries. Some Republicans have dubbed him the state’s third senator and local politicians try to emulate his “straight talk” at town meetings.
So when Donald Trump said over the weekend that McCain, a former POW, “is not a war hero,’’ the rebukes from the Republican Party elite came fast, even if it is less clear whether the controversial statement undermines his standing in the state’s primary field.
On Monday, Trump declined to apologize for his comment in a phone interview with NBC News, but he acknowledged McCain “is a war hero.” Also that morning, McCain told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Trump “may owe an apology” to veterans and their families.
McCain’s colleagues weren’t as circumspect in their responses: Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, called Trump a “blowhard.” Senator Kelly Ayotte, a Republican who is a friend of McCain, rebuked Trump’s comments.
“Mr. Trump’s remarks are offensive and he should apologize not only to Senator McCain, but to all service members and veterans who have put their lives on the line in service to our nation,” Ayotte said in a statement.
Trump placed second in the most recent New Hampshire GOP presidential primary poll, trailing former Florida governor Jeb Bush by a handful of points in a CNN/WMUR survey from late June.
Nationally, Trump leads a crowded GOP field of 16 candidates in the most recent polls. On Monday, an ABC News/Washington Post survey showed him at 24 percent — an increase of 20 percentage points since the last poll in May — and second only to Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin. At the same time, the poll showed a majority of respondents said he didn’t represent the GOP’s values. The poll was taken Thursday through Sunday, including some interviews after Trump’s comments.
The presidential nominating process starts in Iowa and New Hampshire, and political analysts say Trump’s best shot at winning one of those contests is in the Granite State. The New Hampshire primary is dominated by moderate Republicans and independent voters —
While some top New Hampshire Republicans, like Ayotte, have chastised Trump, there is little indication he has lost supporters over the comment.
“Do I agree with his comment about McCain? No, but politicians have said a lot worse,” said state Representative Peter Varney, who is supporting Trump. “No candidate is perfect, and I am not going to drop my support over one comment.”
The uproar began at a weekend forum in Ames, Iowa, when Trump said McCain was “not a war hero.’’
“He was a war hero because he was captured,’’ Trump said. “I like people who weren’t captured.”
Immediately after Trump’s comment Saturday, fellow Republican candidates for president denounced his words. Former Texas governor Rick Perry suggested Trump drop out of the race. In addition, the Republican National Committee issued a statement over the weekend that Trump’s comments have “no place in our party.” And on Monday night, the Des Moines Register called on Trump to leave the race.
But in his NBC interview Monday, Trump went further, defending his record on veterans while saying McCain does “a horrible job for the vets.”
“I’m not a fan of John McCain,” said Trump, whose feud with McCain has been simmering for some time.
This month, Trump visited McCain’s home state of Arizona for a rally to denounce illegal immigration. The July 11 event attracted at least 4,000 people to the Phoenix Convention Center. (Trump disputes this crowd count, saying it was as large as 15,000 in a tweet.)
McCain, an advocate for bipartisan immigration legislation, said Trump’s Phoenix rally “fired up the crazies.”
“He called them ‘crazies’ because they want to stop illegal immigration,” Trump said Monday.
On the surface, Trump’s bombastic manner has certainly drawn attention in the Granite State and elsewhere, but he may have gone too far, said New Hampshire Republican National Committeeman Steve Duprey, another McCain ally.
“People like Trump because he says want he thinks and people believe he is not beholden to anyone,” he said. “But whether John McCain cares or not about the comment doesn’t matter. The fact that New Hampshire has one of the highest number of veterans per capita who could be offended is Trump’s real problem.”
There are about 127,000 veterans in New Hampshire, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, in a state population of 1.3 million.
University of New Hampshire political science professor Dante Scala says Trump’s statements may not turn off independent voters who are barely paying attention to the race, six months before voting begins in Iowa and New Hampshire.
James Pindell can be reached at James.Pindell@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jamespindell.