Trump described traumatic brain injuries received by service members as 'headaches.'
From Feb. 28 testimony in the House Foreign Affairs Committee:
REP. BRAD SHERMAN (D-CA): Now 110 of our service members suffer traumatic brain injuries. The Pentagon had thought it would be even worse. But the day after 110 of our servicemembers were hurt, the president said, "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime."
Nineteen days after those injuries, the president said, "I heard they had headaches, I can report it's not very serious." Thirty of them are still in the hospital, all of them will be suffering their whole lives or be studied their whole lives for their traumatic brain injury.
Mr. Secretary do you want to take the opportunity — it's a yes or no question — do you want to take the opportunity here today to apologize to those service members for trivializing their injuries?
MIKE POMPEO: Mr. Congressman, I've never trivialized the injury ...
SHERMAN: But do you want to apologize on behalf of the administration? For trivializing their injuries?
POMPEO: Sir, I've never trivialized any injury to any ...
SHERMAN: You're part of an administration, you speak for that administration, do you want to apologize for the administration's trivializing those injuries?
POMPEO: Are you looking for me to answer the question?
SHERMAN: Yes.
POMPEO: I'm happy to answer the question if you'd cease speaking over me, I'm happy, just give me a second. We take seriously every American service member's life. It's why we've taken the very policies in Iran that we have.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
