Donald Trump: John McCain isn't a war hero - I like people who weren't captured

Video report by Washington Correspondent Robert Moore

Donald Trump has refused to apologise for attacking John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam war.

Trump, a Republican presidential candidate, sparked outrage when he told a forum in Iowa over the weekend: "He's not a war hero - he was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."

McCain, who was tortured for five years as a prisoner of war after being shot down in 1967, said Trump should apologise not to him, but to other US military veterans.

But when asked whether he would say sorry, Trump told ABC News: “No, not at all - when I left the room it was a total standing ovation, it was wonderful to see, nobody was insulted.”

Trump's comments prompted an angry response from his rival candidates.

Rick Perry said the remarks were a "new low in American politics" as he called for Trump to "immediately withdraw" from the race for president.

Jeb Bush urged the "slanderous attacks" on McCain and veterans to stop.

McCain's daughter Meghan also tweeted that she was "disgusted".

McCain, who lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, played down the personal nature of the attack, but revealed that he had received a "flood of calls" from veterans unhappy with Trump's comments.

"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 our country," he told MSNBC.

"The great honor of my life was to serve in the company of heroes - I'm not a hero."

He added: "Somehow to denigrate that in any way is offensive, I think, to most of our veterans."

The feud between the two started when McCain suggested Trump's recent comments about immigrants had "fired up the crazies" at a rally in Phoenix.

Trump has also accused McCain for not doing enough for fellow veterans.

The White House weighed into the row on Monday.

Spokesman Josh Earnest said while President Obama continues to have political differences with his 2008 rival, "but those debates have not reduced his appreciation for Senator McCain's remarkable service to the country."