Donald Trump says Bowe Bergdahl Should Have Been Executed

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl should have been executed for leaving his post in Afghanistan.

Trump made the comments Thursday afternoon at a rowdy rally inside a packed Las Vegas theater at the casino-hotel Treasure Island. Trump says Bergdahl is a "no-good traitor" and would have been shot 30 years ago. Bergdahl was charged in March with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

The Army conducted a hearing on his case earlier this month. Bergdahl is accused of leaving his post in southeastern Afghanistan in June 2009. He was held prisoner by the Taliban for five years, then exchanged for five Taliban commanders being held by the U.S. Trump has long railed against the deal.