Title: Trump's Attacks Against American Veterans or Their Families
Headings: Every time Trump has attacked American veterans or military families
Every time Trump has attacked American veterans or military families
President Donald Trump speaks to Air Force personnel during an event September 15, 2017 at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
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In July 2015, at a forum in Iowa, then-presidential candidate Trump said Sen. John McCain, who retired from the Navy as a captain, awarded a Silver Star and a Distinguished Flying Cross, was only a war hero because he had been taken hostage. "He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured," Trump said.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 11, 2017.
In February 2016, Trump turned his ire onto Sen. Lindsay Graham, who served in the US Air Force and rose to the rank of Colonel, calling him a disgrace. He also said Graham was one of the "dumbest human beings" he'd ever seen, and that he was a "nut job."
In July 2016, Trump took aim at retired four-star General John Allen. "You know who he is? He's a failed general. He was the general fighting ISIS. I would say he hasn't done so well, right?" Trump said, according to Politico.
In July 2016, Trump attacked the family of Capt. Humayun Khan, a slain soldier, dismissing a speech his father Khizr Khan made, because he said Khan's mother hadn't been allowed to speak.
In August 2017, Trump called Sen. Richard Blumenthal "a phony Vietnam con artist." He was referring to misleading statements Blumenthal had made saying he had served in Vietnam, when he'd served during Vietnam.
In October 2017, Trump forgot the name of slain US army Sgt. La David Johnson, while he was on the phone with his widow. Johnson was killed in an ambush in Niger while in active service. Myeshia Johnson said the call with Trump made her cry, and that Trump told her that her husband "knew what he had signed up for."
In April 2018, Trump called James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, "a lying machine." Trump was referring to Clapper's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2013, when he said the NSA did not wittingly collect data on Americans.
In June 2018, Trump called Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania "Lamb the Sham," when he endorsed Lamb's opponent for the district. He also criticized him for only voting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In November 2018, Fox News' Chris Wallace asked Trump about his thoughts on retired Admiral William McRaven, a former Navy Seal who was behind the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. He interrupted Wallace and said, "Hilary Clinton Fan." When Wallace continued, Trump did, too. "Excuse me: Hilary. Clinton. Fan."
In January 2019, Trump said retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal, who led US forces in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2010, was fired by former President Barack Obama "like a dog." He also said his final assignment was a total bust, that he was a Hilary Clinton lover, and he was known for his "big dumb mouth."
In May 2019, several days after the former special counsel Robert Mueller released his investigative report on Russian election interference and Trump's attempts to obstruct justice, Trump tweeted the report had been constructed by "Trump Haters," and called Mueller "highly conflicted."
In August 2019, Trump told Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, who served as a marine in Iraq, "You remain a frickin' coward" when Moulton dropped out of the race to be the next Democrat presidential candidate.
In October 2019, Trump called his former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a retired four-star general, "the world's most overrated general," after also saying Mattis wasn't tough enough.
In October 2019, John Kelly, Trump's former White House chief of staff, told a live audience that he'd told Trump not to hire a "yes man," because if he did, he would get impeached. When Trump heard about it, he said, "John Kelly never said that, he never said anything like that. If he would have said that I would have thrown him out of the office. He just wants to come back into the action like everybody else does."
In October 2019, Trump called Bill Taylor, the US's chief envoy to Ukraine, who was a witness in Trump's impeachment inquiry, and who had given evidence against him, a "Never Trumper." He went on to say, "Never Trumpers" were "human scum."
In October 2019, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a Purple Heart recipient, was the most recent former-soldier to face criticism from Trump. After Vindman's opening statement was released to the media, but before he'd given evidence at the impeachment inquiry, Trump called him a "Never Trumper."
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.
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Content: Conor Lamb. Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Lamb is a Marine Corps veteran. The reference to Lamb being a "sham" might stem from previous claims Trump made about Lamb only winning his election by supporting Trump's own policies, even though he is a Democrat. In November 2018, Fox News' Chris Wallace asked Trump about his thoughts on retired Admiral William McRaven, a former Navy Seal who was behind the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. He interrupted Wallace and said, "Hilary Clinton Fan." When Wallace continued, Trump did, too. " Excuse me: Hilary. Clinton. Fan."