Open Letter to Veterans for Trump

Open letter to Veterans supporting Donald Trump:

I know catchy slogans like “Make America Great” resonate with you. I know from personal experience that there are still racists in the Armed services. I know that, for many of you, the testosterone rush of tough talk, even when tragically based on ignorance or jingoism (look it up) is a high. What I don’t know is how you can continue supporting any man or woman who:

·       Will play golf in Florida in the rain but will not honor our war dead in France.

·        Dishonors the family of a fallen hero, principally because they are Muslim

·       Blatantly lies to invent favorable press(no new steel mills, no $451 billion Saudi contracts)

·       Claims an electoral loss is a victory. (Republicans lose House)

·       Claims a killer allowed into the country under a Republican administration was “allowed here by Democrats”

·       Claims an Opioid bill which was supported by almost every Congressman of both parties had “very little Democratic support”

·       Claims the recent Defense Authorization Bill contained the “first pay raises in 10 years” when in fact there were raises every year since 1962.

·       Says “Veteran’s Choice” privatization will help Vets, when it will simply shift care and dollars to private providers, and probably insurers who will decide what to treat and not to treat.

·       Tells a dead soldier’s mother, “He knew what he signed up for” as if that made it ok.

·       Insulted the captivity and service of John McCain

·       Claimed (falsely) that “Most Presidents, including Obama didn’t ‘call’ the families of military men or women killed in action. In truth Obama didn’t always call. Sometimes he spoke to them personally in the White House! So did Bush & Clinton

·       Actually said this, speaking of dealing with women: “I’ve been so lucky in terms of that whole world. It is a dangerous world out there – it’s scary, like Vietnam. Sort of like the Vietnam era. It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier,”

·       Claimed on the campaign trail he would be “so good at the military, it will make your head spin!”

·       Rarely calls the families of Minority soldiers who are killed but sent $25,000 to a white family (but only after the Washington Post called him out for not having done it 4 months after promising to do so.)

·       Displayed his ignorance in a campaign rally in Florida in October when a woman passed out and then was able to return to hear the end of the speech. “That woman was out cold and now she’s coming back,” Trump said. “See, we don’t go by these new and very much softer NFL rules. Concussions ‘Uh oh, got a little ding on the head? No, no, you can’t play for the rest of the season.’ – our people are tough.”

So, this is your guy vets? Good thing he had all that high school JROTC and military school huh? In my own 26 years of actual service, I have served under a number of good and, in some cases, great leaders at sea and in the naval nuclear power training pipeline. Donald Trump couldn’t have lasted 2 days in my seaman gang!