The political circus was in Ames, Iowa today, with Republican candidates gathered for the 2015 Family Leadership Summit. And leading clown Donald Trump stole all the press from his rivals by saying of 2008 Republican nominee and Senator John McCain, "He's not a war hero... He's a war hero because he was captured... I like people that weren't captured."

The draft dodger added, "Because he was captured, okay? Perhaps he's a war hero. But right now he's said some very bad things about a lot of people." And the crowd seemed a little confused by Trump's attack—Bloomberg News reports that they "responded with an awkward mix of shocked 'oohs' and scattered applause."

Because Trump never ever ever ever backs down, here's a statement posted on Facebook:

I am not a fan of John McCain because he has done so little for our Veterans and he should know better than anybody what the Veterans need, especially in regards to the VA. He is yet another all talk, no action politician who spends too much time on television and not enough time doing his job and helping the Vets. He is also allowing our military to decrease substantially in size and strength, something which should never be allowed to happen. Furthermore, he was extremely disrespectful to the thousands upon thousands of people, many of whom happen to be his constituents, that came to listen to me speak about illegal immigration in Phoenix last week by calling them "crazies". These were not "crazies"---these were great American citizens. I have great respect for all those who serve in our military including those that weren't captured and are also heroes. I want to strengthen our military and take care of our Veterans. I want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN especially for those that serve to protect our freedom. I am fighting for our Veterans!

Oh, and:

In addition to doing a lousy job in taking care of our Vets, John McCain let us down by losing to Barack Obama in his run for President! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2015

All the other Republican candidates released statements denouncing Trump. The 2012 Republican candidate even managed to land a pretty good joke: