As Americans honored military sacrifice on Veterans Day, Trump said military votes shouldn't matter.
Trump marked his second Veterans Day in office with a call for the votes of military service members to be ignored and disregarded.
On Tuesday morning, Trump said Florida elections should be "called in favor of [GOP candidates] Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis," and that officials "must go with Election Night" to decide the outcome of the race.
But if officials were to follow Trump's wishful thinking, it would disenfranchise thousands of service members.
Florida law allows for votes cast overseas, including military ballots, to be counted through November 16, as long as they were postmarked by November 6. In other words, only counting the votes cast by Election Day would throw out military votes.
Scott and DeSantis, Trump's picks for governor and senator in Florida, have seen their leads erode since election night as officials continue to count votes there. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) has not conceded the race, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum has rescinded his concession.
The statement from Trump follows his insult to the memory of soldiers who served in WWI, when he refused to attend a ceremony at a WWI cemetery in France.
He claimed that rain prevented him from visiting.
Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill and a member of the British parliament, called Trump a "pathetic inadequate" for his insult.
Trump has repeatedly insulted and maligned the military since being sworn in as their commander-in-chief. He has not visited soldiers serving overseas, unlike his two immediate predecessors. Trump has also supported budgets and policies that would cut funding and services vital to the military and veterans.
Meanwhile, Trump has been fixated on the expensive and outlandish idea of pushing for a self-aggrandizing military parade.
Over America's history, thousands of soldiers died fighting for Americans to have the right to vote and have a say in their democracy.
Trump's decision to shill for his political allies and ask to discard military votes insults the sacrifice of those lost troops and demeans the noble causes they fought for.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
