Rolling Thunder: Donald Trump tries to turn biker rally into campaign event

The Republican presidential candidate complained the crowd was not as big as that gathered for Martin Luther King in 1963

Last year, Donald Trump stunned political observers when he insulted one of America’s most famous prisoners of war.

“He’s not a war hero,” Mr Trump said of Senator John McCain. “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

On Sunday, Mr Trump, now the Republican’s candidate for president, spoke at the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally, which honours prisoners of war and service members missing in action. In an address that quickly turned into a political speech, he said he would both expand the military and provide better treatment for its veterans if elected president.

Mr Trump said he would expand the military and increase care for veterans (Reuters)

Mr Trump was speaking in the same spot as civil rights icon Martin Luther King in 1963. “I thought this would be like Dr Martin Luther King,” said Mr Trump complaining that not enough of his supporters had been allowed onto the Mall.

He then turned his attention to the battle agaisnt Isis. “Our generals are spinning in their graves. We’re going to beat Isis. We have no choice but to do it,” Mr Trump said.

The 69-year-old claimed that bikers had attended many of his rallies where he had been told by his staff that they were there to protect him. “It’s amazing. It’s an incredible feeling,” he added.

Hundreds of thousands of bikers gathered on the National Mall for the annual gathering.

The Wall Street Journal reported that many, if not most, of the bikers were there for the event, rather than to hear the candidate speak. However, many of them agreed with some of his views.

“He’s said a lot of stupid s**t,” said Jamie Summerville, a construction worker from Maryland, who rode a 1994 Harley Davidson Sportser.

But he said Mr Trump “is for the good stuff” when it comes to policy questions such as gun rights. “He can speak where he wants.”