Going to review some of Trump's biggest failures with the military and veterans community this week as we approach Nov 3rd. Let's start way back and remember Trump's long history of disrespect for military service before the White House. Strap in for a thread! #LincolnProject
Trump was sent to military school by his father and thinks it means he served. He's spun his experience for decades, but, it's also the first time his toxic leadership got him in trouble when he was moved out of a command position in less than a month. washingtonpost.com/politics/decad…
Then he went off to college and used deferrals and finally a completely dubious 'bone spurs' diagnosis to dodge service. He would later tell his lawyer Micheal Cohen, 'You think I'm stupid? I wasn't going to Vietnam'. Only 'suckers' joined the military. newsweek.com/donald-trump-b…
His disdain for military service is documented. His prenup with Marla Maples in 1993 laid out the ways their daughter Tiffany would lose her financial support before turning 21 including taking a full-time job, joining the Peace Corps...or the military. vanityfair.com/news/2019/06/m…
Then in May, 1998 Trump goes on Howard Stern's show and claims his sexual adventures were more dangerous than serving in combat. He jokes that his having sex with so many women was his own Vietnam and he deserved the Medal of Honor for avoiding STD's.
In May, 2013 Trump offensively tweeted about sexual assaults in the military. "26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?" Everything is about sex and money. cnn.com/2016/09/08/pol…
His disdain for service didn't change when he decided to run for President. While appearing at an event in July, 2015 he smeared John McCain saying “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
He showed again his complete lack of understanding of military service when appearing at an event in Oct, 2016 he implies that vets with mental health issues are weak. "...you're strong and you can handle it but a lot of people can't handle it."
Then during the DNC the parents of fallen soldier Humayun Khan criticized his Muslim ban proposal. "Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.”
Trump responded with racist innuendo “If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say.” Saying he was "viciously attacked" by the grieving parents. thehill.com/policy/nationa…
Let's not forget this all happened before he even made it to the White House. From dodging military service to dismissing the service of those who did, Donald Trump has never had any respect for the military and hasn't gained any as President. Vote him out. @ProjectLincoln
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Continuing my review of Trump's many acts of disrespect to veterans and service members today. Back to 2017, just a few months after taking office he sat on his toilet at 7:00 AM and kicked thousands of patriotic service members out of uniform in 3 tweets over 15 minutes. Thread!
With Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation yesterday the rights of LGBQT+ Americans are in focus again and Trump has shown he's willing to trample their rights to appease his evangelical/conservative base. He wasted no time as POTUS making a heinous attack on the community in July 17.
In a surprise early morning tweet thread spread over 13 tense minutes Trump lied and said he had consulted with his "generals" and decided to implement a ban on the service of transgender individuals. The news shocked the Pentagon and service members.
2 days ago I tweeted about @RepDougCollins using his military uniform in a @CollinsforGA campaign ad. It's much worse and advocates are calling for a real investigation and UCMJ punishment for the Congressman for violating DOD regs and norms. Strap in for a thread! #Georgia
So what's the reg? DoD Directive 1344.10, “Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces,” details what is and what is not allowed in campaign materials for active, reserve, or retired members of the military running for office. It's very precise. esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Doc…
Only photos of the candidate in uniform allowed are photos as part of the their biographical information, when accompanied by other non-military photos, and when also accompanied by a disclaimer stating that the appearance of the photo in uniform doesn’t imply a DoD endorsement.
I spent the weekend diving into the IRS Form 990's for the Tommy Tuberville Foundation after reading how so little of the money went to the mission of supporting veterans. I've been a veterans advocate for 10 yrs and seen a lot of these. Strap in for a long thread! #Alabama
I looked at the 990's published by ProPublica (projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/org…). You won't find them on the foundations website or any information about the officers, legal framework or donations. But, you will find out how AWESOME TOMMY IS and how much he loves the troops!
The accounting and paperwork is an absolute mess. Different forms every year, different addresses, wildly missed reporting numbers, totals that don't add up and bizarre financial choices. At a minimum the foundation has been incredibly poorly and unprofessionally managed.
Remember when Trump blamed military and law enforcement for Hope Hicks getting COVID? It never made sense why she, and now him, would blame military personnel for giving it to them. Well...did you know there was a Gold Star Mother's Day event at the White House on Sunday?
What he said on Thursday “It’s very, very hard when you are with people from the military or law enforcement, and they come over to you, and they want to hug you, and they want to kiss you, because we really have done a good job for them. And you get close and things happen"
Now we know. Look at these photos from the event Tweeted out by the First Lady. No masks. No social distancing. They were all hanging out like normal the day after the super spreader event for Amy Coney Barrett.
I respect Kavanaugh’s position but he is wrong on a host of levels and it all starts with his status as a currently serving officer. When we retire we are citizens again. (1)
The old saying that perspective is a matter of where you sit is on point here. I took off my uniform and enjoy the full rights of an American citizen as do these generals. I disagree with...well most of them but they have every right to speak out. (2)
I was especially put off by this nugget: “For one thing, the American public tends not to distinguish between active and retired generals.” Really? He uses Mattis as an example but he was a political appointee. We are in a fight for our country and I want all hands on deck. (3)
Fred Wellman, a lifelong Republican who served three tours in Iraq, is now the senior adviser for veterans affairs for the Lincoln Project. The political action committee connects former and current Republicans to defeat Trump in 2020.
Wellman’s phone has been blowing up since the Atlantic report: “It cuts to the very core of who we are as military members,” he said. “We revere our dead.” He knows the base won’t shift. But he aims to move only 1 to 4% of Republican or independent voters away from Trump.