Donald Trump — whose campaign’s veterans adviser has repeatedly called for Hillary Clinton’s execution — talks a big game when it comes to his support of and respect for veterans, but Trump’s repeatedly diminished military service, and he’s stiffed and slighted veterans for years.
Trump Disparages Prisoners Of War: “I Like People Who Weren’t Captured.”
- Senator John McCain commands respect from both sides of the aisle over his military service — but not from the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. In July 2015, Trump said of McCain: “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
- Later on, when asked if he owed McCain — and prisoners of war everywhere — an apology, Trump said, “No, not at all.”
Trump Opposes The GI Bill
- Here’s what Donald Trump thinks about the GI bill: When asked if he would support its continuation, Trump kept things simple, “No.”
Trump Repeatedly Lied About Giving Money To Veterans Charities
- Trump lied for four months, claiming that he’d raised and given $6 million to veterans charities — including $1 million of his own money. When he got caught, he finally paid up, but was even then still short of the $6 million. It turns out veterans aren’t the only group that Trump’s short-changed on promises to contribute money, according to a Washington Post analysis of Trump’s broken charitable donation promises.
Trump Sought At Least Four Draft Deferments, But Said Dating Made Him “Feel Like A Great And Very Brave Soldier.”
- Trump pursued four draft deferments to avoid going to Vietnam, but said he had a similar experience back in New York, calling his avoidance of sexually transmitted diseases in New York’s dating scene “like being in Vietnam” and commenting that it made it “feel like a great and very brave soldier.”
Trump’s Plan To “Fix” The VA: “A Little Bit Of A Free Market Thing.”
- Trump’s plan to reform the VA is both simple and simplistic: “A little bit of a free market thing.” Does that mean outright privatization or perhaps voucherization? Hard to say from that, but a Trump adviser has previously signaled Trump’s possible support for privatization. Either way, it’s clear that Donald Trump has no idea what he’s talking about and wants to work against veterans’ own wishes, because almost two-thirds of veterans oppose privatization and a majority are opposed to having their health care system voucherized.
Trump Accused U.S. Servicemembers Of Stealing Money Earmarked For Rebuilding Iraq
- From June 14, 2016: “How about bringing baskets of money – millions and millions of dollars – and handing it out? I wanna know, who are the soldiers that had that job? Because I think they’re living very well right now, whoever they may be.”
Trump Said Soldiers In Humvees Hit By IED Detonations “Go For A Little Ride.”
- Can’t make this one up. Trump in February: “2,300 brand new up-armored Humvees, I talk about it all the time…the best in the world…Armor plated, top, bottom, all over, if a bomb goes off our wounded warriors–instead of losing their legs, their arms, worse, they’re okay. They go for a little ride upward and they come down.”
Published: Jul 26, 2016