Trump basks in McCain takedown, says rivals envious of rise

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans' swift condemnation of Donald Trump's disparaging comments about Sen. John McCain's military service marks a turning point in the party's cautious approach to the billionaire-turned-presidential candidate.

Asked whether he now thought McCain was a war hero, Trump merely referred to his previous day's comments, when he said "perhaps" he was while seeming to mock McCain for being captured.

[...] Republicans have been largely cautious in their handling of Trump and his provocations.

While officials privately fretted about the damage he could do to the party, they are also worried about alienating voters drawn to his celebrity, brashness and willingness to take on establishment Republicans.

Trump has made other eyebrow-raising comments since declaring his candidacy, most notably his assertion that Mexican immigrants are rapists and drug dealers.

Many GOP candidates were slow and halting in their response to those comments, underscoring a continuing struggle to hit the right notes on immigration when they want to appeal to Hispanics without alienating traditional GOP voters.

McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, spent more than five years as a prisoner of war, enduring torture and refusing release ahead of fellow captives.

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton said it was shameful "that it took so long for most of his fellow Republican candidates to start standing up to him."