McCain: Trump should apologize to POWs

John McCain said Donald Trump doesn't owe him an apology but should express sorrow to other prisoners of war and their families.

"I think he may owe an apology to the families of those who have sacrificed in conflict and those who have undergone the prison experience in serving their country," McCain said on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday.

Declining by and large to mix it up with Trump, McCain said "I'm not a hero" but that he did serve with many heroes in Vietnam and they should not be denigrated.

Trump's weekend comments about McCain — that he is not a hero "because he was captured" and "I like people who weren't captured" — have prompted calls for him to exit the Republican presidential race.

McCain said he doesn't think Trump should leave the race but is interested to see how the billionaire businessman's comments affect his popularity. Many polls show Trump at or near the top of the 2016 Republican presidential race.

Trump, who has said he has no plans to apologize to McCain, said he is angry with the Arizona senator for describing his backers as "crazies." Trump also said McCain and other lawmakers have not done enough to help veterans, nor have they addressed the issue that animates many of his supporters: illegal immigration.

"A nation without borders is not a nation at all, but John McCain has not been able to figure that out," Trump said.

On MSNBC, McCain said Arizona is a diverse political state with many political views "and we have got lots of arguments and lots of debates going on." He said the term "crazies" refers to their passion, not their mental state.

"I thought it was a term of endearment," McCain said.