How Much Does Donald Trump Support Our Troops, and Does It Matter?

Bringing receipts to the debate gets us closer to the truth

Following release of reports of the President calling fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers,” a debate is raging over his thoughts and actions about service members in general. Cutting through the noise requires “bringing receipts.” This article includes a lengthy but not exhaustive list of other potentially relevant statements and policy steps by the POTUS, building on a previous GatorCountry.com discussion thread post. What they reflect about him is useful for understanding his leadership style and impacts on our diverse military personnel as well as the country as a whole and the world. We can’t get inside others’ heads, but there is a mountain of evidence that he cares about those serving only to the extent that they serve HIS interests. We mustn’t deny harsh realities. Doing so in general leads to failures, on or off the battlefield. In this case all Americans, but particularly those serving in the military, deserve better.

Below are a variety of actions he’s taken particularly impacting service members. The first list includes arguably supportive ones. Following that are categorized groups of actions that seem tough to excuse. But first, let’s define “supporting” as promoting safety and well-being during and after service and “troops” as active and retired members of one of the now five branches.

Actions likely beneficial for military personnel:

• He has increased military pay, such as by 3.1% for 2020
• He signed the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which included legislation created to end use of toxic military burn pits
• He has expanded Pentagon funding every year, including seeking a $750 billion defense bill for 2020 and ultimately signing one for $738 billion
• In 2017 he signed the Forever GI Bill, which passed unanimously in the House and Senate, which included provisions to increase benefits for Purple Heart recipients along with money and time to get STEM degrees

Actions potentially harming active duty or retired service members or their families:

USING OR PROPOSING TO USE TROOPS FOR QUESTIONABLE PURPOSES

• In June 2020 he said he would mobilize “every available federal force both ‘civilian and military’” in order to quell at-times violent protests following the death of George Floyd
• He requested US military chiefs stand next to him at his 2019 4th of July parade, while during the speech that followed it a group of active military members who’d received invitations to a V.I.P section wore MAGA hats and chanted things like “four more years”
• He had Acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Army General Mark Milley (the nation’s top military officer, in uniform, who later apologized for participating and politicizing the military) accompany him in a photo op with a bible at St. John’s Episcopal Church, after National Guard members cleared protesters from the Lafayette Square area with pepper spray
• He sent troops to the border to paint the fence for a better “aesthetic” purposes in June 2019
• In fall 2019 he sent thousands of American troops to defend oil assets in Saudi Arabia, the origin of 15 of the 19 reported perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks and whose leader who had Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi murdered and dismembered for writing critically about him
• The week before the Fall 2018 election, he announced that 5,200 U.S. troops would “secure” the Southern border, though the immigrant caravan cited as the reason was still nearly 1,000 miles South and on foot

ENDANGERING OR NOT PRIORITIZING THE WELL-BEING OF SERVICE MEMBERS

• Despite intelligence officials telling Congress they alerted the POTUS in March of Russian bounties paid to Taliban fighters for killing American and allied service members, he said in June 2020 “the Russia Bounty story is just another made up by Fake News tale that is told only to damage me and the Republican Party,” and later admitted he hadn’t brought it up in a July phone call with Vladimir Putin
• While visiting Iraq in 2018, on Twitter he revealed the identities (including names and faces) of members of Seal Team 5, which was on covert deployment
• He dismissed as “headaches” brain injuries suffered by 109 American troops in Iran’s retaliatory strike following his ordered execution of General Qasem Soleimani
• He visited troops deployed overseas for the first time 2 years after taking office, while having visited his golf courses 227 times during that time

OPPOSING MILITARY SERVICE IN HIS OWN LIFE AND FAMILY

• He received five Vietnam draft deferments, the last one using bone spurs as a medical excuse (about which he reportedly told “fixer” Michael Cohen “You think I’m stupid, I wasn’t going to Vietnam.”)
• He had his second wife Marla Maples sign a prenuptial agreement that included the stipulation that all child support would be ended were Tiffany to join the military
• According to his niece Mary, Donald and his father Fred were harshly critical of anyone joining the military rather than going into business, including her Donald’s older brother Fred Jr. after he joined the U.S. Air National Guard

ACTING IN OPPOSITION TO MILITARY PRINCIPLES LIKE TEAMWORK, SELF-SACRIFICE, HONOR, RESPECT, AND LOYALTY TO COUNTRY

• He used funds raised at a January 2016 veterans benefit for his political campaign and staff rather than his foundation (according to a legal ruling), then downplayed it on Twitter, writing “all they found was incredibly effective philanthropy and some small technical violations, such as not keeping board minutes”
• While in office he has caricatured American soldiers as “killing machines” and military leaders as “my generals,” in the latter case complaining that they “don’t know anything about business” in terms of working with allies to protect American interests
• While focusing on collecting dues from allies, he has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from NATO, “the military alliance among the United States, Europe and Canada that has deterred Soviet and Russian aggression for 70 years,” and which weakening is a top priority of Russian President Vladimir Putin
• Veterans’ graves in Texas may be “dug up” for the border wall project, after he instructed aides to seize private property, also telling officials he would pardon them if they were caught seizing land illegally
• In a speech to deployed troops he made false statements about both the 2018 military raise being 10% and it being the first one in 10 years
• He called troops on Thanksgiving 2018 and told them he’s most thankful for himself, while also railing against judges, immigrants, and “bad” trade deals
• He urged Florida to not count votes from military personnel deployed overseas in the 2018 November election
• He blocked VoteVets.org on Twitter in June 2017
• He accepted a Purple Heart from a fan at a 2016 campaign rally, saying “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.”
• After a phone call with Turkish President Erdogan in which he went “off script” and without consulting with top military officials, he withdrew support from Syrian Kurds who’d been helping us fight ISIS, after which Turkish forces fired artillery at US Special Forces, killed hundreds of Kurdish fighters and civilians, and displaced over 100,00 people, after which the POTUS claimed that fighting “had nothing to do with” the United States
• After he ordered our troops to abandon the main American military facility in Syria, Russian troops took control of and began using it for operations
• In his 2015 biography he claimed he has “more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military” because he went to a military-style academy
• ⁠In a 1997 interview that included the topic of avoiding STDs while single and having unprotected sex, he said “It’s like Vietnam, sort of. It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave solider.”

IGNORING OR DOWNPLAYING INPUT FROM GENERALS AND OTHER MILITARY EXPERTS

• ⁠He has repeatedly ignored or challenged intelligence findings contradicting his public positions on issues such as Russian attacks/interference on the 2016 election, North Korea, Russia, the Islamic State, and Iran, for instance calling intelligence officials “passive and naïve” and suggesting they “go back to school”
• In a 2017 meeting at the Pentagon, he reportedly told a group of American generals “you’re a bunch of dopes and babies”
• He called then secretary of defense James Mattis “the world’s most overrated general” based on a disagreement over actions in Syria
• After Mattis called the idea of using the military to quell racial justice protests a threat to the U.S. Constitution, the President criticized his leadership style and falsely claimed to have nicknamed him “Mad Dog”
• He said in a 2016 rally that he knows more about ISIS than American generals
• He called retired general Stanley McChrystal a “dog” with a “big, dumb mouth” (1/1/19)

INTERFERING WITH MILITARY PAY OR EMPLOYMENT STATUS

• Between 12/22/18 and 1/25/19, he shut down the federal government by refusing to sign the GOP’s funding bill, forcing the Coast Guard to go without pay and a number of service members to rely on food pantries, although his appointees received $10,000 pay raises
• He fired HIV-positive service members just prior to the 2018 holidays

USING OR RE-APPROPRIATING MILITARY FUNDS FOR PET PROJECTS

• In 2019 the Pentagon re-appropriated funds originally earmarked for military schools, military housing funds, and daycare to pay for the President’s border wall
• He ordered an Air Force cargo crew, flying from the U.S. to Kuwait, to stop in Scotland (home to no U.S. bases) to refuel at a commercial airport (where fuel costs more) and stay overnight at one of his financially struggling properties (which isn’t close to the airport) (9/19)

RESTRICTING AVAILABILITY OR QUALITY OF SERVICES FOR VETERANS

• In 2017 and 2018 he involved three friends from Mar-a-Lago (Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter, West Palm Beach physician Bruce Moskowitz and lawyer Marc Sherman) in multiple decisions regarding the VA, despite those men lacking military or VA experience
• He allowed the VA to move over 200,000 health care applications by veterans from “pending” status to “closed” status in two months, forcing those veterans to reapply if still seeking health care benefits
• He has increased privatization of the VA, leading to longer wait times for services and massive pay-outs to contractors
• He tried to slash disability and unemployment benefits for disabled, unemployed veterans
• ⁠His administration (specifically FEMA) seized 5 million face masks intended for VA hospitals in April 2020, leaving them understocked during a peak in COVID-19 infections
• His Chief of Staff worked in secret to deny comprehensive health coverage to Vietnam vets who have suffered health complications from exposure to Agent Orange
• He claimed vets get PTSD because they aren’t strong enough to “handle it” (10/3/16)
• For over a decade he sought to kick military veteran street vendors off of Fifth Avenue because he felt they were bad for New York City’s image

INTERFERING WITH MILITARY JUSTICE OR CONDONING INJUSTICES

• He has pardoned multiple war criminals, thus dismissing the findings of military courts
• He ordered the Navy to rescind medals previously awarded to prosecutors involved in the Eddie Gallagher war crimes case
• When a man was caught scamming veterans receiving pensions using high-interest “cash advances” in 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined him $1

DENYING CITIZENSHIP TO SOLDIERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

• He denied a U.S. Marine who had served for 6 years entry into the country to have a citizenship interview
• In 2019 he changed the policy of children of deployed American troops being guaranteed citizenship, including those of troops posted abroad for years at a time
• He had the spouse of an Army soldier killed in Afghanistan deported, before press coverage led to a reversal of the decision (4/16/19)
• He attempted to deport a marine vet who was also an American-born citizen
• Mexico opened a facility in Tijuana for deported American veterans, which wounded war vet Senator Tammy Duckworth (D) visited to mark Veterans Day 2019
• He has deported active-duty spouses (with 11,800 military families facing this problem as of April 2018)
• His administration “directed the Department of Defense to implement new barriers restricting the ability of immigrants to serve in the military and use that service as a path to citizenship,” resulting in both fewer applications and a reduced likelihood of approval
• He signed an executive order in 2017 to end the “Parole in Place” program, which was created to “allow military families to remain together during the I-485 adjustment of status process.”
• He doubled the rejection rate for veterans requesting family deportation protections (7/5/18)

VERBALLY ATTACKING FORMER SERVICE MEMBERS, THEIR FAMILIES, OR CIVILIANS, INCLUDING AT MILITARY EVENTS

• He mocked Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a Purple Heart medal recipient, in regard to his rank and uniform, after which the Army deemed it necessary to provide Vindman with security protection
• During a D-Day interview at a cemetery commemorating fallen US soldiers, he criticized Vietnam veteran Robert Mueller (6/6/19)
• According to two service members, a group of sailors wearing uniforms with the name of their destroyer (the USS John S. McCain) were turned away from his Memorial Day 2019 speech
• In May 2019 he ordered the USS John McCain out of sight during his visit to Japan, leading to the ship’s name being covered
• He said of John McCain in 2015 that “he was a war hero because he was captured,” and that “I like people who weren’t captured”
• He complained that John McCain didn’t thank him for allowing the Senator to have a state funeral
• In response to gold star recipient Khizr Khan criticizing the President’s lack of sacrifice, he ridiculed the Khizr and his wife and claimed that he’d “made a lot of sacrifices,” such as creating “thousands and thousands of jobs” and building “great structures”
• He started his D-Day 75th commemoration speech by attacking Bette Midler

TREATING TROOPS DIFFERENTLY BASED ON SEXUALITY OR GENDER

• In 2019 he instituted a ban against transgendered military personnel from serving, originally announcing it in a Tweet and without alerting generals in advance
• Female troops have restricted access to birth control while on deployment, reportedly based on general orders to reduce sexual activity

ACTING INEFFECTIVELY TO CONSOLE OR PROMOTE HEALING FROM LOSS

• He sent commandos into Niger in an unsanctioned military action, in which 4 died in an ambush, after which he falsely claimed that his predecessors had never made calls to the families of fallen soldiers
• After the Niger tragedy he reportedly forgot a fallen soldier’s name during a call to his pregnant widow Myeshia Johnson, then attacked her the next day on Twitter after she publicly reported that happening
• While in Europe in 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, he said the rain forced him to skip a ceremony attended by other world leaders for Americans who died there
• He reportedly canceled a traditional Arlington Cemetery visit on Veterans Day 2018 due to rain

It matters what the POTUS thinks, says and does in regard to the United States military. While getting inside his head is impossible, we can consider a number of data points to better understand his thinking and priorities. And while some of the above outcomes are not direct consequences of his actions, they are his responsibility. Or at least they would be if he took it on the way President Harry Truman famously did in saying “the buck stops here.”

These data seem to indicate several themes. A major one is that he views the military transactionally: when they can serve his interests, he’ll promote theirs. When they can’t, he bails. A more effective and patriotic leader would stand for principles other than immediate self-interest. This nation’s special standing in the world comes largely from our imperfect but long-term commitments to causes greater than a given leader’s wealth or power.

Those who make claims in the face of contradictory data have a choice. They can address it effectively or change their claims. In this case, the idea that the POTUS actually cares about service members when not politically expedient appears untenable. Supporters may cynically accept political favors such as tax breaks or courts stacked with conservative judges. Or they can support a different approach to the office of U.S. President. Regardless, it strains credulity to claim that he has acted according to principles resembling those of the American military such as honor or loyalty.

PERSONAL NOTE

I am the son of a retired Army officer but have not personally served in the military. This piece arose from a desire to counter disinformation about the President’s actions in regard to service members. To support that I consulted with active personnel and retired veterans. As always, if you think something is misrepresented, please specify in a comment.