Trump’s shameful belittling of the U.S. military

Yes, I was put off by his shallow and thoughtless remarks about the Medal of Honor and his disrespect of those who received it. Trump stood before an audience at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., on Aug. 15 and told those gathered that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “the highest award you can get as a civilian, it’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version. It’s actually much better, because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor — that’s soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead,” Trump said. Then he turned to a Medal of Freedom honoree and said, “She gets it and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman, and they’re rated equal.” “She” happened to be Republican billionaire Miriam Adelson, to whom Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018 and who has promised to spend more than $90 million in Trump’s latest White House quest.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars denounced Trump’s pronouncements as “asinine.” Not only did the former president belittle the significance of the Medal of Honor, the VFW said, but Trump also “crassly characterizes the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty.” The VFW’s words were like water off a duck’s back. They have had no effect on Trump, whose lack of regard for people who don’t serve his needs is apparent.

You might have been around during the Republican presidential campaign in 2015 when Trump opined on Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a decorated Vietnam War veteran who paid a heavy painful and physical price at the hands of North Vietnamese who held him captive for 5½ years. Trump declared that McCain was “not a war hero” and then clarified, “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.” That from Trump, a loudmouth celebrity who never wore the uniform but avoided military service with draft deferments.

The same Donald Trump who, in one of his first significant acts as commander in chief, did a Pontius Pilate and washed his hands of responsibility when a mission he had blessed resulted in a mess.

To recall, U.S. Navy SEAL Senior Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens was the first U.S. service member killed during the line of duty during Trump’s ill-fated administration.

Owens lost his life carrying out a covert mission in Yemen on Jan. 29, 2017, a few days after Trump had taken the oath of office. Asked during a news interview about the failed mission, Trump said the operation was something the generals “were looking at for a long time”; it was “something that was, you know, just — they wanted to do. And they came to see me and they explained what they wanted to do, the generals, who are very respected.”

Then the president of the United States declared, “And they lost Ryan.”

“They”?

The Yemeni operation had been in the planning stages during the Obama administration but had not received a green light before Obama departed Washington. The plan was approved by Trump. It failed.

As a junior officer, I was taught and learned to follow the golden rule of leadership: I am responsible for everything my subordinates do or fail to do. Mistakes can be made by many, but as the officer in charge, I am ultimately accountable.

Faced with a failure, Trump took a cop-out that can only be termed disgusting.

It’s quintessential Trump: muscling his way up front to take a bow and bask in glory, then shifting the blame when things go wrong. And let us not forget his “leadership” during the covid-19 pandemic.

Now, the shame of it all is that Trump thirsts to return to the noblest of offices.