Retired U.S. Navy official: Donald Trump not good enough to polish John McCain’s boots

PHOENIX — A retired U.S. Navy rear admiral swung out at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s comments about Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday.

Addressing the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Rear Admiral John Hutson (ret.) said Trump has no right to call out McCain’s service record.

“[Trump] even mocks our POWs, like John McCain,” he said. “I served in the same Navy as John McCain. I used to vote in the same party as John McCain.

“Donald, you’re not fit to polish John McCain’s boots!”

The line was met by a large round of applause from attendees at the convention.

Last year, Trump said McCain was a “war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

A Navy pilot during the Vietnam War, McCain was captured after his plane was shot down. He was held for more than five years as a prisoner of war.

Many politicians weighed in immediately after Trump’s comments, from which the billionaire did not back down.

The quote has followed Trump for more than a year, and Hutson’s reference was not the only one made by a speaker at the Democratic convention.

U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said he is “offended” by the way Trump treats veterans.

“As a Marine, as an Arizonan, as an American, I am offended,” Gallego, who served in the Marines, said in his address.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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