Donald Trump and Senator John McCain have both responded to the controversy over Trump's comments Saturday evening.
So too are voters in the Granite State.
Most of the voters who spoke to NECN said they were rubbed the wrong way by Trump's comments. Others say this is why they support Trump, because he's uncensored, unfiltered, and unapologetic.
"He's just doing it to rattle people's cages, I got to commend him on that," said Manchester resident Gary Glidden
Glidden of Manchester comes from a military family. He still supports Donald Trump despite hearing Trump question John McCain's war record.
"My father is a Vietnam veteran and it's like, hey, he's going to say what he's going to say and it doesn't matter," Glidden said. "I like his personality, I think that's what it takes to be a leader."
Other Granite Staters found it appalling.
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"It was disgraceful," said Paul Hanson of Pembroke.
"He wouldn't be candidate I would vote for," said Jessica Aprile of Plaistow.
"It definitely rubbed me the wrong way," said Manchester resident Thaddeus Dejong.
"It was disgraceful," said Paul Hanson of Pembroke. "We will select someone as the New Hampshire primary winner that best represents values of the state and Mr. Trump is not that."
McCain said Monday, he doesn't want an apology, but believes Trump owes it to other veterans.
"The best thing to do is put it behind us and move forward and just express our gratitude to those who have served and sacrificed," McCain said.
Meanwhile, Trump is standing by what he said Saturday evening, blaming the media for misrepresenting his comments.
"I said, very clearly, he is a war hero. I have absolutely no problems with that," Trump told NBC's Matt Lauer in a phone interview. "John McCain has done a horrible job, the VA is a scandalous corrupt organization. It’s a disgrace, the way it’s being run, and the veterans of this country are suffering."
Trump's fellow republicans say he was questioning the heroism of a man who spent six years as a prisoner of war and for that they're calling for him to drop out of the race.
New Hampshire political scientist Dean Spiliotes says that's not going to happen... at least not yet.
"I think he's in for a while, he's leading nationally, doing well in state polls, I think he's tapped into some populous vein in the republican party that is very unhappy with status quo," Spiliotes said. "I don't see him saying, 'I apologize, I am going to get out of the race,' that's just not his style."
Spiliotis says this is the kind of thing that could hurt a candidate, but we won't know exactly how much Trump's comments are impacting voters until the next round of polls comes out within a couple weeks.
