New poll shows Donald Trump's 'war hero' gaffe hasn't changed his standing in Iowa

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Iowa-wide poll happened to be halfway through gathering responses when Trump said POW Sen. John McCain is not a 'war hero'
The US political world exploded with Trump's rivals – and the Republican Party itself – condemning the presidential primary's front-runner
But the billionaire had 13 per cent support among Iowa GOPers during the two days before he spoke in Ames, and 13 per cent during the two days after
Scott Walker improved his standing during the Family Leader summit, landing at 22 per cent – with Trump in second place, nine points behind

By David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:07 EST, 20 July 2015 | Updated: 13:41 EST, 20 July 2015

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When Donald Trump wagged his famous tongue in the direction of Sen. John McCain on Saturday and told an Iowa audience that the famous POW wasn't 'a war hero,' political officialdom predicted Trump's fans would abandon him – at least in the Hawkeye State.

But one poll released Monday morning found that Trump's support in Iowa stayed steady even after the Saturday morning insult-heard-'round-the-world became the weekend's dominant political story.

Monmouth University pollsters happened to be halfway through collecting information from likely Iowa caucusgoers when the billionaire presidential candidate slammed the Arizona senator with whom he's been feuding about illegal immigration.

He attracted the support of 13 per cent of those polled on Thursday and Friday – the same number he posted Saturday and Sunday – when other Republicans' fit of pique over his comments was at its most red-hot.

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MADE NO DIFFERENCE: Donald Trump's sucker-punch of Sen. John McCain on Saturday in Iowa hasn't lost him any support among the Hawkeye State's likely Republican caucusgoers, a new poll shows

That showing puts Trump in second place in Iowa, trailing Wisconin Gov. Scott Walker, the longtime front-runner there, by nine points.

There appeared to be 'no immediate damage' to Trump, pollsters reported.

'Walker has been a favorite of Iowa voters ever since his well-received appearance at the Iowa Freedom summit in January,' said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

'More recently, Trump has outmaneuvered the rest of the field to earn the second spot despite his controversial statements over the weekend.'

Walker's 22 per cent rating marked a steep climb during the weekend, though, suggesting the governor of nearby Wisconsin performed well during his Winnebago-aided campaign swing.

The Monmouth University Poll reported Monday that Walker polled at 19 per cent on Thursday and Friday, and 25 per cent on Saturday and Sunday.

He and Trump rank first and second in nearly every subcategory of Republican voters that the Monmouth poll examined.

Among tea party GOPers, it's Walker at 27 per cent, Trump at 14 and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 12.

Trump on McCain: 'He's a war hero because he was captured'

'HE'S NOT A WAR HERO': Trump brought condemnation on himself by saying Saturday in Iowa that Sen. John McCain as only considered a hero because he was captured by the North Vietnamese in the 1960s

HE'S A WAR HERO: McCain endured more than 5 years as a prisoner of war and was repeatedly tortured, later refusing to accept a release until all of his men were freed as well

Hillary Clinton criticizes Donald Trump's McCain comments

Evangelicals chose the same top three – Walker at 17, Trump at 13 and Cruz at 10 – joined by neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

IOWA GOP BATTLE: LATEST POLL

The Monmouth University Polling Institute conducted a telephone poll from July 16 to July 19 of Republicans who said they would likely participate in next year's candidate caucuses.

22% ... Scott Walker

13% ... Donald Trump

8% ... Ben Carson

7% ... Jeb Bush

7% ... Ted Cruz

6% ... Mike Huckabee

5% ... Marco Rubio

5% ... Rand Paul

4% ... Bobby Jindal

3% ... Rick Santorum

3% ... Rick Perry

3% ... Carly Fiorina

2% ... John Kasich

1% or less: Chris Christie, George Pataki, Lindsey Graham, Jim Gilmore (0%)

11% ... Undecided

Non-evangelical voters in the poll preferred Walker (26 per cent), Trump (12 per cent), and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (10 per cent).

Men and women split 1-2 or Walker and Trump, 24-16 and 19-10, respectively.

Walker is the clear favorite among voters age 50 and older, who gave him 25 per cent support. Trump was second in that category at 13 per cent, followed by Ben Carson at 9.

Younger Iowa Republicans, thoguh, clustered their favorites around a group of five candidates, all within the poll's margin of error, including Walker and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (13 per cent each), Trump (12 per cent), and both Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (10 per cent).

Trump's comments about John McCain were sparked by a public spat over immigration – Trump is hawkish and wants a massive wall built on America's southern border, while McCain was part of the bipartisan 'Gang of Eight' that tried in 2013 to deliver a comprehensive immigration reform bill that the Obama White House could endorse.

The Monmouth Poll found Iowa Republican caucusgoers don't put immigration anywhere near the top of their list of concerns.

When asked to choose the most important issue in deciding which GOP candidate they will support, 28 per cent mention national security first. Taxes and government spending is the second most popular answer at 18 per cent, followed by the economy at 16 per cent. Just 12 per cent said immigration concerns them the most.

Defiant Trump unapologetic over McCain remarks

Walker has been expected to perform well in Iowa since long before he entered the race. Wisconsin shares a border with Iowa, and the governor's plain-spoken, soft-spoken, and 'clean-spoken' wholesomeness appeals to farmers and prairie-dwellers.

A whopping 73 per cent of Republicans said they have a favorable opinion of Walker, compared with just 9 per cent who said they view him unfavorably. That gargantuan 64 percentage point difference is more than twice as large as the split among Republicans nationally.

Trump, by comparison, is liked by 47 per cent of Iowa GOP caucusgoers. Another 35 per cent disagree. That, too, is a dramatically better showing than he made last week on a national level when his favorable rating was 40 per cent and his unfavorable number was 41.