Elections

John McCain Grills Media For Twisting Trump’s Words About PTSD

Getty Images

Christian Datoc Senior White House Correspondent
Font Size:

None other than Arizona Sen. John McCain defended Donald Trump’s recent comments about post traumatic stress disorder.

John McCain is pursued by reporters as he heads for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on September 6, 2016 (Getty Images)

John McCain is pursued by reporters as he heads for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on September 6, 2016 (Getty Images)

Trump was criticized for stating that unfortunately, veterans suffering from PTSD who end up committing suicide aren’t as “strong” as some of their comrades.

“When you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat and they see maybe what people in this room have seen many times over — and you’re strong and you can handle it — but a lot of people can’t handle it and they see horror stories,” Trump told veterans at a campaign event on Monday.

McCain told the Arizona Daily Star on Tuesday that this interpretation is just evidence of “bias in the media.”

Donald Trump speaks to supporters in Arizona (Getty Images)

Donald Trump speaks to supporters in Arizona (Getty Images)

“This is kind of the classic example of the media feeding frenzy that is going on,” the Navy veteran explained. “What [Trump] is saying is that some people, for whatever reason, and we really don’t understand why, suffer from PTSD, and others don’t.”

“I know people who have suffered from PTSD,” McCain continued. “I never have. I have never had a flashback. I never had a bad memory; I never had anything but the greatest gratitude for the honor of serving in the company of heroes.”

Follow Datoc on Twitter and Facebook