It's Veterans Day. A time to honor our veterans. It is also a time
that we turn to our president to represent this special day with tributes and
the president's own views on those who served our country in the military.
Given that our current president Donald Trump hugs the American flag and in
public speaks favorably about our veterans, it is important to know exactly how
he reveals his true mindset when discussing those feelings with people who are
also conservative Republicans and who themselves are veterans who worked under
him in his first administration. Here are quotes from these military heroes on
what they shared are Trump's private conversations with them:
General Mark Milley, Trump's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after a
Veterans Day event in which Milley wheeled a multiple amputee veteran up to
Trump for Trump to shake his hand: "Why do you bring people like that
here? See the wounded, no one wants to see that...Don't do that again."
General John Kelly, Trump's Chief of Staff shared an incident: In planning a
military parade, Trump insisted "Look, I don't want wounded guys in the
parade." Kelly says he responded "Those are the heroes. In our
society there's only one group of people more heroic than they are -- and they are
buried over in Arlington."
To this Kelly says Trump replied "I don’t want them. It doesn't look
good for me."
Trump insisted that General Kelly cancel a scheduled visit to a cemetery in
Paris of American war dead. "Why should I visit that cemetery? It's filled
with losers" and he referred to marines who were killed in France as
"suckers."
When visiting Arlington National Cemetery to honor our war dead, Trump said
to Kelly "I don't get it. What's in it for them?"
Trump publicly had no trouble making his feelings about veteran John McCain,
disagreeing with people who considered McCain heroic for refusing to be
released from a Vietnamese prison camp until other POWs were also released:
"He's not a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't
captured."
And what do these veterans and conservatives who served Trump in his first
term think of him as our nation's leader?
“Trump will fundamentally never understand service those who have actually
served in uniform will, and it’s one of the countless reasons he is unfit to be
commander-in-chief” – Alyssa Griffin, Trump’s Communications Director
"Donald Trump's disdain for the American military and admiration for
dictators like Hitler is rooted in his desire for absolute, unchecked
power." and "he has no idea what America stands for and what America
is all about"..."He admires autocrats and murderous dictators"-
General Kelly.
"Trump would rule like a dictator (if given a second term)...Trump has
fascist tendencies" and "Trump is the single greatest threat to
American democracy" -- General Kelly.
"Trump is a wannabe dictator...He is fascist to the core" --
General Milley.
"Trump doesn't care for our (the military's) values...He needs to leave
office. The fate of our Republic depends upon it" -- General James Mattis,
Trump's Secretary of State.
Trump is a dangerous threat to our democracy “undermining our institutions
and that makes me worry for the direction of our country” -- Admiral William
McRaven, who led the successful killing of Osama bin Ladin.
For those who support Trump and do not want to pay attention to these assessments
from conservative Republican military heroes who worked for Trump and who had heard
these remarks directly from Trump they must ask themselves why would they
repeat these remarks and come to these conclusions? They know Trump personally,
you do not. They know firsthand the real Trump, you do not.
Why are they doing it? To reveal the true Trump, to warn us all about the
dangers of the Trump presidency and to call upon us all to be on our guard and
protect democracy and our rule of law from who they are alerting us to what they
know to be our single greatest threat.
