Trump Called McCain a Loser
The Claim
U.S. President Donald Trump never called U.S. Senator John McCain a loser.
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Emerging story
After Trump allegedly called military personnel “losers” and “suckers,” which we investigated here, he went on an anti-smear campaign. On September 3, 2020, he tweeted the claim that he never called McCain a loser, which was soon picked up by many of his followers.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that Trump’s claim is false.
He was recorded on video (below) calling McCain a “loser.”
Some of Trump’s defenders say that he called McCain a loser in terms of losing the election, not as related to his military service. However, later in the video Trump says of McCain: “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” This is a direct statement about McCain's military service. McCain was held as a prisoner of war for over 5 years in Hanoi during the Vietnam War.
Further, in 2015 Trump retweeted an article about him calling McCain a loser.
