Today's report from @TheAtlantic that Trump called Marines who died at Belleau Wood "losers" and "suckers" isn't surprising. He's insulted the military and their families constantly since the start of his presidential campaign in 2015. I've got the highlights here. (thread)
In 2015, Trump said of the late Sen. John McCain: "He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."
politico.com/story/2015/07/…
politico.com/story/2015/07/…
In July 2016, Trump slammed retired Gen. John Allen: “You know who he is? He’s a failed general. He was the general fighting ISIS. I would say he hasn't done so well, right?”
politico.com/story/2016/07/…
politico.com/story/2016/07/…
A day later, Trump publicly criticized the parents of U.S. Army Captain Humayan Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004.
nytimes.com/2016/07/31/us/…
nytimes.com/2016/07/31/us/…
In October 2017, he made the widow of a fallen soldier cry during what was intended to be a condolence call by forgetting her late husband's name and saying "he knew what he signed up for". nytimes.com/2017/10/23/us/…
After John McCain's death in 2018, Trump was widely criticized for what appeared to be a petty refusal to keep flags lowered to half-staff, as is customary. He finally did so after outcry from across the political spectrum. businessinsider.com/trump-finally-…
In November 2018, Trump cancelled a visit to the Ainse-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in northern France, where thousands of Marines were buried after dying in the Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I, "due to weather". It was drizzling. rollingstone.com/politics/polit…
It was later revealed--in reporting by @JeffreyGoldberg this evening--that Trump called the Marines who died at Belleau Wood "losers" and "suckers". He also insulted the intelligence of service members and wanted wounded vets kept out of military parades. theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
After arriving home from that incident in France, he subsequently insulted retired Admiral William McRaven in an interview and asked why he didn't get Osama bin Laden sooner, drawing criticism from basically everyone. rollingstone.com/politics/polit…
In March 2019, while at a rally in Ohio, Trump went into a five-minute rant about John McCain, who had died back in August, including a number of blatant lies about his career and record, including: failing veterans. npr.org/2019/03/21/705…
In October 2017, Trump publicly slammed Jim Mattis as "the world's most overrated general". militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-…
In November 2019, the White House Twitter account attacked Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman during his testimony to Congress. They also later removed his brother--another Army officer--from his position. Vindman would retire after being harassed by a smear campaign.
Today's news is not the least bit surprising. This is who Trump has always been. From insulting the widows of fallen soldiers to calling American service members "losers" to arbitrarily banning trans people from the military, Trump has no respect for those in uniform. /thread
WAIT HOW COULD I EVER FORGET: Trump ignored intelligence that Russia is paying the Taliban to kill U.S. troops and then failed to bring this up with Putin. nytimes.com/2020/07/29/us/…
