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THREAD: A comprehensive list of everything Donald Trump has done to disrespect, dishonor, and harm military service members, their families, and veterans. Credit goes to u/victorvictor1 for compiling and sourcing.
Trump dodged the draft 5 times by having a doctor diagnose him with bone spurs. No Trump in America has ever served in the military; this spans 5 generations and every branch of the family tree. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/02/27/trumps-lawyer-no-basis-for-presidents-medical-deferment-from-vietnam/
In 2019 it was revealed three of Trumps cronies from Mar a Lago- none of whom served in the military or government, had any experience in veterans affairs, nor been appointed to any official roles- were in fact running the Department of Veterans Affairs. https://www.propublica.org/article/ike-perlmutter-bruce-moskowitz-marc-sherman-shadow-rulers-of-the-va
The trio was given authority to influence policy. VA officials reported that the Trio were given influence over the agency as “spoils” after Trump’s election victory. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/25/politics/trump-mar-a-lago-crowd-va-emails/index.html?fbclid=IwAR3F9rWgYM0KKCbldzI5enWW2j7xbJlgLiMbhfw3hK3dsekc_Z7lEzPEVuw
Donald Trump pulled US troops out of northern Syria, abandoning a long standing military ally in the region and allowed them to be indiscriminately killed. The move also allowed the Islamic State to regroup, and further destabilized the region. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-to-pull-troops-from-northern-syria-as-turkey-readies-offensive/2019/10/07/a965e466-e8b3-11e9-bafb-da248f8d5734_story.html
The order came after a phone call with Turkish President Erdogan. The move was widely considered an act of betrayal and a disgrace by US troops who had served alongside the Kurds as the battled to defeat the Islamic State. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/for-us-soldiers-its-a-dagger-to-the-heart-to-abandon-the-kurds/2019/10/14/f0a1db60-eecf-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html
Trump approved a mission ending special forces into an ambush resulting in a commando being left behind, tortured, and executed. Trump approved the mission because Bannon told him "Obama didn't have the guts to do it"
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/17/world/africa/niger-ambush-american-soldiers.html https://apnews.com/cb0d6c63f3ed4415a0bd19e98175f792
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/17/world/africa/niger-ambush-american-soldiers.html https://apnews.com/cb0d6c63f3ed4415a0bd19e98175f792
One clarification on this. It was actually a different botched mission, one that resulted in the death of Chief Petty Officer William Owens, that Trump approved over dinner at Mar a Lago bc Brannon told him Obama didn’t have the guts to approve it https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/world/middleeast/donald-trump-yemen-commando-raid-questions.amp.html
While in Europe commemorating the end of WWI, he didn't attend the ceremony at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, legendary site of Belleau Wood, due to rain - other world leaders went anyway https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/10/trump-cancels-ww1-memorial-at-us-cemetery-in-france-due-to-rain-sparking-twitterstorm.html?fbclid=IwAR3F9rWgYM0KKCbldzI5enWW2j7xbJlgLiMbhfw3hK3dsekc_Z7lEzPEVuw
As we’ve learned from @jeffgoldberg1’s recent reporting, that morning Trump said to his senior staff, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers” https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/615997/
Trump falsely claimed to deployed troops that he gave them a 10% raise. In fact, he attempted to give a raise that was lower than the standard living adjustment, but relented after overwhelming bipartisan pushback from Congress. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/12/27/in-iraq-visit-trump-makes-false-claim-about-military-pay-again/?fbclid=IwAR3F9rWgYM0KKCbldzI5enWW2j7xbJlgLiMbhfw3hK3dsekc_Z7lEzPEVuw
Trump falsely claimed that his administration gave service members their first pay raise in 10 years. In fact, troops have seen a pay raise every year for more than 30 years. https://www.militarytimes.com/pay-benefits/2018/05/09/trump-confused-about-military-pay-claims-troops-saw-no-raises-for-a-decade/
