"That’s too bad": Trump carelessly shrugs off U.S. military on eve of Afghanistan speech
Donald Trump is scheduled to address the nation Monday night to unveil his new plan to try to win the 16-year war in Afghanistan. The strategy may include an escalation of combat, with Trump sending more U.S. troops to put their lives at risk. But that hasn’t stopped Trump from snubbing the military, which has […]
Donald Trump is scheduled to address the nation Monday night to unveil his new plan to try to win the 16-year war in Afghanistan. The strategy may include an escalation of combat, with Trump sending more U.S. troops to put their lives at risk. But that hasn’t stopped Trump from snubbing the military, which has become a long-running pattern of his.
Trump’s latest apparent cold shoulder came Sunday night in the wake of news that the Navy destroyer the USS John McCain had slammed into merchant vessel east of Singapore. Ten sailors were reported missing. The mid-sea collision came two months after the USS Fitzgerald collided with container ship in Japanese waters. That crash left seven crew members dead.
Asked about the USS McCain news as Trump returned from his golf-heavy, 17-day vacation Sunday, he simply responded, “That’s too bad.” He was asked before the 10 sailors were announced missing.
The condemnations to Trump’s casual and off-handed response were swift. From former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Steven Pifer:
No words. He is commander-in-chief. https://t.co/TteT286uju
— Steven Pifer (@steven_pifer) August 21, 2017
And from veterans:
This is a joke. "That's too bad" is more for your golf game not missing sailors @POTUS! https://t.co/etKpcKuu7R
— VoteVets (@votevets) August 21, 2017
Two hours after shrugging, “That’s too bad,” Trump’s twitter accounted posted a message of concern about the accident, sending “thoughts and prayers.”
Still, the public relations debacle was so bad that Breitbart on Monday swooped in and tried to clean up the mess, insisting bad staff work by chief of staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster meant Trump hadn’t been briefed about the Navy’s disaster.
The news broke on Twitter at approximately 7:30 p.m. Trump was asked about the accident around 8:30 p.m. It’s hard to imagine he had no idea the USS McCain had suffered major damage.
Trump, who sat out the Vietnam War with a sore foot, has a long history of snubbing the military. He famously began his White House run by mocking Sen. John McCain, who was a prisoner of war during Vietnam, saying, “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
He also joked about getting a Purple Heart and attacked the Gold Star family for partisan, political reasons.
As president, Trump has gone six months without tweeting about any of the 20-plus U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan this year. Instead, Trump has used Twitter to rage about the media and pick fights with his enemies. That is, when he’s not too busy golfing.
Recommended
Biden calls for expanded child tax credit, taxes on wealthy in $7.2 trillion budget plan
President Joe Biden released his budget request for the upcoming fiscal year Monday, calling on Congress to stick to the spending agreement brokered last year and to revamp tax laws so that the “wealthy pay their fair share.”
By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom - March 11, 2024Biden rallies Democrats in Las Vegas: ‘Imagine the nightmare’ if Trump reelected
With a primary win all but inevitable, President Joe Biden used his Sunday appearance in Las Vegas’s Historic Westside to rally his most vocal supporters in a battleground state that delivered for him four years ago.
By April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current - February 05, 2024UAW delivers rousing presidential endorsement for Biden over ‘scab’ Trump
The United Auto Workers of America endorsed the re-election of President Joe Biden Wednesday, just months after he became the first sitting U.S. president to walk a picket line with striking autoworkers in Michigan.
By Ashley Murray, States Newsroom - January 24, 2024