Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said that Senator John McCain is considered a war hero only because he was captured during the Vietnam War and refused to apologize to the politician.

Billionaire Donald Trump speaks in Ames, Iowa, on July 18. Photo:Reuters.

"He's not a war hero," entertainment and real estate billionaire Donald Trump said at a rally in Ames, Iowa, on July 18 after the organizer used the phrase to describe Senator John McCain, Reuters reported. "He's a war hero because he was captured, but I like people who haven't been captured."

McCain was a US Navy pilot who fought in Vietnam. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war in Hanoi for five years before being released in 1973.

Billionaire Trump belittled Mr. McCain's work in the Senate, calling the Republican senator a "loser" for his failure in the 2008 White House race. He said Mr. McCain had not done enough for veterans. "John McCain talks a lot but doesn't do much," Trump said.

The comments have drawn criticism from other Republican presidential candidates and are the latest scandal for billionaire Trump since he began his White House bid with harsh comments about Mexican immigrants. Many Republicans have also grown increasingly frustrated with Trump.

“There is no place in our party and country for demeaning comments about respectable people,” said Sean Spicer, chief strategist for the Republican National Committee.

"Donald Trump owes every American veteran, especially John McCain, an apology," said former Texas governor Rick Perry.

Senator John McCain has not commented.

However, billionaire Trump continued to criticize Mr. McCain yesterday on the program "This Week" on ABC channel. "No, no," Trump replied when asked if he owed Senator McCain an apology.

Corey Lewandowski, Trump's campaign manager, said the entertainment mogul is leading in national polls. "The tactic has worked so far."

(According to VNExpress)