Maybe Trump’s disdain for military service began with his draft-dodging during the Vietnam War. He was able to get a physician to certify that he had bone spurs in both heels that would prevent him from performing his duties in the military, perhaps with his father’s help. He was then classified 1-Y, a medical deferment. This was in spite of the fact that he played football, tennis and squash and was starting golf. Previously, he had received four deferments while in college. Thus, Trump never served in the military, either because of cowardice or because he believed that military service was just for suckers: you could get killed or injured and were not in a position to make any money. Serving his country was not a priority for him.
Though Trump has obtained more money for the military from Congress than Obama did, and currently has two generals and other military personnel on his staff, he has never shown them proper deference and regard for their service. During his campaign for the presidency, he claimed that he knew more about how to fight ISIS than the generals did and in fact had a secret plan for defeating them. Of course, once he was elected he handed off the task for fighting ISIS to his military staff, having little knowledge himself of the intricacies of war.
Another show of his disrespect for the military is the way he treated Senator John McCain, a true war hero. McCain had endured five years of privation and torture as a North Vietnamese prisoner of war after his plane had been shot down. Then, when McCain had an opportunity for an early release to be returned to the United States because of his father’s stature as an admiral, he refused to be repatriated until all of his comrades were also released by the North Vietnamese. However, when Trump was campaigning for the presidency, he said that McCain was not a war hero just because he was captured. He said- “I like people who weren’t captured.” These words came from a cowardly man who himself had been afraid to fight for his country.
Recently, there has been more evidence of Trump’s disrespect for veterans and the military, especially those who gave their lives for their country. Perhaps he didn’t consider it worthwhile to honor them because they were killed by the enemy and Trump liked soldiers who weren’t killed. While in France last weekend to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, Trump refused to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near where the Battle of Belleau Wood was fought. He claimed the rainy weather was responsible because it grounded his helicopter and the Secret Service did not want him to drive. However, all the other world leaders drove to the cemetery to honor those who died in the war and there was no reason Trump could not have driven. It was about an hour and twenty minutes away.
In another show of disdain for America’s veterans and military, Trump neglected to travel to Arlington National Cemetery on Armistice/Veterans Day to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This has been a tradition for all presidents for over half a century but it did not move Trump to make the ten minute trip to honor deceased veterans.
How can this man who has been so oblivious to military protocol and traditions, and with no concept of military tactics or strategy be Commander in Chief of America’s Armed Forces? With no evidence of compassion or empathy, do we want this man’s finger on the nation’s nuclear trigger? Trump is a man who thinks only of himself and how he can enhance his fame and grandeur. He has shown no willingness to go out of his way to honor the men who sacrificed for America, in fact taunting one of the nation’s true heroes. I like men and women who have served our country.
Resurrecting Democracy
www.robertlevinebooks.com
Posted at 11:58 AM in 2016 election, 2018 elections, American soldiers, Congress, Corruption, Current Affairs, demagogue, Foreign Affairs, France, government traditions, Hypocrisy, ISIS, military, narcissism, NATO, nuclear weapons, Politics, President Trump, World War I | Permalink
Tags: American soldiers, France, honor war dead, John McCain, military, Trump, Unknown Soldier, Veterans Day, World War I
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020