Donald Trump recently attacked fellow Republican Senator John McCain, proclaiming, "He's not a war hero" and was only viewed as a hero because "he was captured."

The twist, however, is Trump avoided serving in the Vietnam War with deferments, possibly proving himself to be a coward.

In the past, Trump publicly stated, "I actually got lucky because I had a very high draft number. I'll never forget, that was an amazing period of time in my life."

However, a 2011 ABC News report checked his claim and found that it wasn't the high draft number that saved him from fighting in the war. Instead the presidential hopeful received a number of student deferments while in college, and later received a medical deferment after he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, receiving a total of five deferments that it made possible for him to avoid participating in service.

McCain, on the other hand, joined the United States Navy like his father and grandfather before him, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. He then became a naval aviator, flying a ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. He was nearly killed in 1967 while on a bombing mission over Hanoi. He was shot down, injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a POW until 1973, having endured years of torture.

Nonetheless, Trump opted to make the callous comment, "I like people that weren't captured," adding that he didn't like McCain after his loss to President Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election because he doesn't like "losers." Also, Trump proceeded to call McCain a "dummy" after McCain failed to apologize for stating that Trump's comments on immigration have "fired up the crazies."

Several Republican presidential candidates came to McCain's defense, endorsing him as a hero.

Watch the video featuring Trump mocking McCain by viewing tweet:

Following the mounting criticism, Trump released a statement on Facebook Saturday afternoon doubling down on his comments. He argued that Sen. McCain had not helped veterans and disrespected his constituents regarding the "crazies" comment.

"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," Trump stated.

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