Donald Trump just got slam dunked by the VFW
The night before Hillary Clinton participated in a “commander-in-chief forum” on MSNBC and NBC in September 2016, she told a crowd in Florida how Donald Trump has “no clue” when he talks about military issues and that Trump’s “whole campaign has been one long insult to all those who’ve worn the uniform.” In other words, Clinton warned that the next commander-in-chief could be someone who is not only grossly incompetent but who cares nothing for Americans who are in harm’s way.
Trump proved Clinton correct this month more than ever before in his presidency. On January 3, an impetuous Trump launched a drone strike to assassinate Iranian General Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport. Not only did Trump fail to discuss his plans with the Gang of Eight, but a classified intelligence briefing days later went so off-the-rails that even sycophantic Senator Mike Lee slammed the Trump administration for being “insulting and demeaning” after he questioned the strategy.
On January 8, Iran avenged Soleimani’s death by launching a missile strike against two military bases in Iraq, triggering fears of World War 3. Rather than soberly address the nation from the Oval Office, Trump issued a psychopathic tweet that began, “All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good!”
It turns out all is not well. Fortunately, the Iranian strikes did not claim a single American life. However, the Pentagon announced on Friday that 34 U.S. troops suffered traumatic brain injuries. While at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump blew off the news, telling reporters that the injuries were “not very serious” while dismissing them as mere “headaches and a couple of other things.” Never mind that the Pentagon noted that half of the injured service members suffered “severe enough symptoms” to be brought to Germany and the United States for further treatment.
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Trump’s ignorant and callous remarks infuriated the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), America’s largest veterans organization, prompting a blistering statement on Friday. Declaring they “cannot stand idle on this matter,” the VFW is now calling on Trump to apologize because “[o]ur warriors require our full support more than ever in this challenging environment.”
Of course, Trump won’t apologize to anyone because he believes he’s perfect—just like that “perfect phone call” with Ukrainian President Zelensky that helped get him impeached. Decades ago, imaginary bone spurs disqualified Trump from military service. Now that Trump’s the commander-in-chief, his abysmal display of recklessness and shameful disrespect for U.S. service members prove he should not be allowed anywhere near a military operation. Unless Trump’s impeachment trial leads to a surprise ending, voters need to make sure this happens on November 3.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month