Despite Donald Trump& #39;s frequent invocation of "The Troops" when defending the bigoted things he says & does, he has disregarded military members& #39; safety & well-being time & time again.

So let& #39;s talk about all the ways Trump has "respected" the troops while in office. (THREAD) https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1276704808825761793">https://twitter.com/jaketappe...
1/ In May, Trump tried to end National Guard deployments 1 day before the deployed service members would have received the federal benefits they had earned.

It was only under immense public pressure that Trump changed course & extended their deployments. #7b221fa9518b">https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/05/19/trumps-plan-would-end-national-guard-deployments-one-day-before-benefits-kick-in/ #7b221fa9518b">https://www.forbes.com/sites/and...
6/ Trump intervened in criminal proceedings against 3 military members charged (or, in 1 case, convicted) of literal war crimes. He did this over the objections of top brass and despite the fact that fellow service members had testified against all 3 men. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/11/19/trump-issued-pardons-soldiers-war-crimes-cases-what-now.html">https://www.military.com/daily-new...
7/ After Lt. Col. Vindman testified before Congress, Trump mocked Vindman for wearing his uniform (and the medals he had earned for his service) to the hearing.

Trump also suggested Vindman had dual loyalties & couldn& #39;t be trusted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ywmySoT-DQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
8/ Trump went on to oust both Lt. Col. Vindman & his brother from their positions at the WH.

Trump publicly suggested the military punish Vindman & opposes his promotion within the military. Because of Trumps attacks, Vindman required security protection. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/army-providing-security-assistance-vindman-key-witness-impeachment/story?id=67137282">https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/...
11/ Trump ordered US troops to abandon Kurdish allies in Syria, allowing Turkish forces to take over the bases & crucial intelligence to fall into Russian hands.

Deployed troops said they were "heartbroken" to have been forced to abandon their allies. https://www.insider.com/trump-betrayal-of-kurds-gave-intelligence-to-russia-2019-11">https://www.insider.com/trump-bet...
12/ As a result of Trump& #39;s decision to abandon Kurdish allies, Russia has since taken control of the main U.S. military facility in northern Syria.

Russia now owns the airstrip that U.S. troops built. https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1195368417777242112?lang=en">https://twitter.com/brett_mcg...
16/ Trump ordered aides to seize private property for his border wall, going as far as promising pardons to any aide charged with illegally seizing property.

One of the properties at risk is a cemetery that holds veterans of WWI, WWII, and the Korean War. https://twitter.com/therickwilson/status/1164286874103537665?lang=en">https://twitter.com/therickwi...
18/ Trump ordered the Navy to strip medals from Navy prosecutors who worked on the case against war criminal Eddie Gallagher.

He then demanded that the war criminal be allowed to keep his medals, including his Navy SEAL Trident pin. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/us/politics/trump-navy-seal-war-crimes.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/3...
27/ Y& #39;all, I& #39;m not even halfway through my list, it& #39;s so long. But it& #39;s getting late, so I& #39;m going to have to pick this up again tomorrow.

But, in conclusion for day one: Donald Trump has spent every moment as Commander-in-Chief betraying the troops he is sworn to lead.
28/ I& #39;m about to start adding to my thread of All the Ways Donald Trump Has "Respected" the Troops, but in the meantime, as I& #39;m prepping tweets, check out @VoteVets& #39;s newest ad.

That last line is https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Feuer" aria-label="Emoji: Feuer">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Feuer" aria-label="Emoji: Feuer">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Feuer" aria-label="Emoji: Feuer"> https://twitter.com/votevets/status/1277295496105807873">https://twitter.com/votevets/...
Lots to add to this thread today. My god.
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