Trump: Veterans with PTSD "aren't strong"

[The Barbarian]

There will be plenty of quibbling in the hours ahead, but Donald Trump clearly just created a new batch of problems for himself with his comments Monday morning, in which he suggested that veterans dealing with mental health problems aren't "strong" and "can't handle it."

"When people come back from war and combat, they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over, and you're strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can't handle it," Trump said to a veterans group in Northern Virginia.
Donald Trump’s gaffe on veterans and PTSD shows just what an amateur he still is

He didn't say they were "weak"; he said they weren't strong. And his apologists are all over it, trying to parse away his dismissal of PTSD soldiers as not strong. I suppose his draft avoider status (a lot of kids of wealthy parents suddenly developed odd disabilities that got better after the draft ended) exacerbated the insult. But isn't that classic Trump, after all?

 

[TLK Valentine]

It's seldom that someone posts something that's so completely upside down as that gem is.

For eight years we had a president who thought he could walk on water and was outraged if anyone mentioned that the emperor actually didn't have any clothes..

Case in point?

and now we have a president who's been constantly denigrated for being a man who cares about ordinary people. He's a "populist," don't ya know? Oh dear.

Pretends to care. Salesmen and entertainers know how to work the crowd. Trump is both.

 

[Rion]

Actually, in the thread you chose not to link to,

Trump Donates First 3 Months Salary to National Park Service

Anyone interested in the truth find that the complaint is not so much about the act of donating, but using it to distract from the fact that he's proposing a $1.6 billion cut from those same national parks.

But by all means, continue to praise him for presenting a check for $78k.

I quoted you, which means that it automatically creates a link to the post (and thus, thread) next to your name, and alerts you that I quoted you. See where it says TLK Valentine said: and then there's an up arrow? Click on that to be taken to said post.

 

[TLK Valentine]

I quoted you, which means that it automatically creates a link to the post (and thus, thread) next to your name, and alerts you that I quoted you. See where it says TLK Valentine said: and then there's an up arrow? Click on that to be taken to said post.

Not in the post I quoted (#35), but you did... eventually.

 

[The Barbarian]

For eight years we had a president who thought he could walk on water and was outraged if anyone mentioned that the emperor actually didn't have any clothes...and now we have a president who's been constantly denigrated for being a man who cares about ordinary people. He's a "populist," don't ya know? Oh dear.

It's seldom that someone posts something that's so completely upside down as that gem is.

 

[Tallguy88]

Considering this is from October of 2015, I don't think this poor choice of words impacted his campaign any.

 

[brinny]

I don't live near any forests either. This was at a beach. It used to be an army base, so it's federal land, maintained by the National Park Service now.

Aah, ok.....i suppose i meant to say that i'm not near any national beaches/parks either.

Thank you for offering me the opportunity to clarify that.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Trump and the Republicans' health insurance plan would have removed mental health coverage. To make up for this, people with mental health problems will be issued thoughts and prayers.

 

[The Barbarian]

Obama's general lack of concern for the VA said everything that needed to be said when it came to what he thought of vets.

Hmm....
This seems to tell us something important, although it's not consistent with your belief. Nearly doubling discretionary funding for veterans would seem to indicate a rather strong degree of care.

 

[whatbogsends]

Did I say anything about war? Obama had it better than Trump, he could have joined in peacetime.

You didn't say anything about war, you were talking about avoiding being drafted.

Trump faced a draft and used his connections to avoid it.

Obama did not face a draft and simply didn't enlist.

The two aren't remotely comparable.

 

[bhsmte]

Trump and the Republicans' health insurance plan would have removed mental health coverage. To make up for this, people with mental health problems will be issued thoughts and prayers.

At a $20 co pay per prayer.

 

[Albion]

You didn't say anything about war, you were talking about avoiding being drafted.

Trump faced a draft and used his connections to avoid it.

Obama did not face a draft and simply didn't enlist.

The two aren't remotely comparable.

Even if all that were so, it doesn't describe a "Draft Dodger" and it is entirely partisan for anyone to use that term in this case. It wasn't you who introduced the term into this discussion, nor did you respond approvingly to it, I don't think, but it's part of the thread now and I believe this deserves to be said.

 

[USincognito]

Even if all that were so, it doesn't describe a "Draft Dodger" and it is entirely partisan for anyone to use that term in this case. It wasn't you who introduced the term into this discussion, nor did you respond approvingly to it, I don't think, but it's part of the thread now and I believe this deserves to be said.

All of what he wrote is true, and your complaint about partisanship is hilarious given that President Clinton still gets the same after 25 years.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Considering this is from October of 2015, I don't think this poor choice of words impacted his campaign any.

True -- Whether or not Trump actually cares about veterans hinged on whether or not his supporters actually cared about veterans. The results speak for themselves.

 

[The Barbarian]

Even if all that were so, it doesn't describe a "Draft Dodger"

The proper term is "draft avoider." Dodgers defied the system or tried illegal means to stay out of it. Draft avoiders used wealth or influence to find a legal way to do the same thing. Trump's daddy found a doctor willing to say he had something that kept him out. Others used influence to get their kids into a guard unit that was unlikely to go into combat. It's not like he was alone. A lot of guys in my generation escaped the draft by various means, not all of them honorable.

It was a huge inconvenience for me, but I didn't see any honorable way out of it.

Yes, I do think less of those like Trump, who used less than honorable ways of avoiding the draft.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Hmm....
This seems to tell us something important, although it's not consistent with your belief. Nearly doubling discretionary funding for veterans would seem to indicate a rather strong degree of care.

Perhaps your gem of a chart is completely upside down?

 

[The Barbarian]

All of what he wrote is true, and your complaint about partisanship is hilarious given that President Clinton still gets the same after 25 years.

Actually, Clinton resigned his ROTC commission and put his name back into the draft pool. However, he was aware that he was relatively unlikely to be drafted, given the demographics in his county. So not quite the same as Trump.

 

[The Barbarian]

Perhaps your gem of a chart is completely upside down?

I'm sure someone out there has an "alternative chart" to show us.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Aah, ok.....i suppose i meant to say that i'm not near any national beaches/parks either.

Thank you for offering me the opportunity to clarify that.

Not a problem, and hey, if you're in New Jersey...

Gunnison Beach - Wikipedia

don't bother bringing swim trunks.

 

[brinny]

Not a problem, and hey, if you're in New Jersey...

Gunnison Beach - Wikipedia

don't bother bringing swim trunks.

LOL! Thanks for the warning.