Before the town hall began, Keith Maupin told the Journal-News, “I came out to see if I can ask Donald Trump about a comment he made about prisoners of war. That kind of hit home with (my son) and I want him to clarify that.”
Trump came under fire last summer for comments he made about Arizona Sen. John McCain and questioning whether he was a war hero.
At the time, Trump had been asked about McCain and responded, “he’s not a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured, okay?”
McCain, the GOP’s 2008 presidential nominee, spent more than five years in a POW camp during the Vietnam War.
“I think he was lashing out to John McCain, but to me, it went beyond that. And I want him to clarify that,” said Keith Maupin, who had a front-row seat at the town hall attended by more than 1,000 people.
Keith Maupin started the non-profit Yellow Ribbon Support Center to support men and women in the Armed Services and to also to remember POWs.
While Trump was taking questions from the audience inside the Savannah Center, Maupin stood up and asked the GOP presidential hopeful to clarify his comments about POWs. Trump responded that he supports POWs and veterans more than any other candidate.
Keith Maupin then gave Trump a fishing lure that had his son’s photo on it.
The crowd inside the town hall, when Keith Maupin was introduced by a supporter, stood and applauded.
Earlier this month, Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky., restaurateur Jeff Ruby Tweeted that Trump would not be welcome in any of his restaurants until he apologized to POWs and their families.
Keith Maupin told Cincinnati media at the time he’d like to talk with Trump about his comments.
“I think I would like to talk to him (Trump) and tell him about all those guys that are missing, because I don’t think Trump ever served,” he told Cincinnati media outlets earlier this month.
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