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US President Donald Trump has a strange way of defending himself. At a Monday lunchtime (local time) press conference at the White House, which looked more like an election campaign act, he again rejected a report from The Atlantic magazine, according to which he allegedly made condescending remarks. over the fallen soldiers.
This report is uncomfortable for him, as it tests the Commander-in-Chief’s relationship with his military. Trump is apparently very angry at the revelations, and also by the fact that hardly any of the high-ranking military is standing up for him. But the way he reacted makes things worse.
At the spontaneously convened press conference, which took place for the first time in front of the north entrance to the White House, Trump first widely praised his own achievements and attacked his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, whom he called, among other things, “stupid”, all without real news, which justified such an appearance on a major holiday (Labor Day).
But then he attacked the military leadership, as a “Commander-in-Chief” has rarely done in public. He accused her of starting wars to boost the income of the arms companies.
“I’m not saying that the military loves me, the soldiers love me, but the Pentagon leaders probably not because they want nothing more than to fight wars for all these wonderful companies, the bombs, the planes and all that. To make the people happy. the rest “.
Trump repeatedly praises himself for significantly increasing military spending
Top Pentagon personnel, especially Defense Secretary Mark Esper, appointed Trump himself. And he was also the one who repeatedly praised himself for the increase in military spending after the previous Barack Obama administration “ran over” the military.
The United States defense budget increased from 2019 to 2020 by $ 22 billion to $ 738 billion. Trump welcomed this after the congressional deal, which his Republicans had won, and spoke of a “historic” budget.
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But it was not the first time that Trump attacked high-ranking military officials. So he mocked the late Republican senator and war hero John McCain and also his former Defense Secretary, the four-star General Jim Mattis. It is difficult to understand why he is doing this, since Trump really needs the support of the military, a major group of Republicans.
Once again, immediately after Trump’s remarks, the highly decorated veterans came forward to contradict the president. Former Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby said on CNN: “The president’s statements about the motivation of military leaders not only degrade his service and that of those who lead them. They make credible the contempt and thoughtlessness that he denies.”
Former Defense Minister Hagel: That shows how little Trump thinks of the military
Chuck Hagel, once Republican Secretary of Defense under Democratic President Obama, told Tagesspiegel on Tuesday that Trump was showing how little he understood the military and how little he valued its services to the country. “Nothing could be further from the truth: the military leaders are not interested in going to war. They are the last!” These comments and the magazine report would resonate with soldiers because Trump has been patronizing of the Americans who have served. Hagel said many highly respected veterans spoke out to contradict a president.
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“The Atlantic” reported on Thursday that Trump mocked US soldiers who died in World War I during a trip to France in November 2018. The US president had therefore rejected a planned visit to the US Aisne-Marne military cemetery. near Paris with the words: “Why should I visit this cemetery? It’s full of losers.”
He later called the more than 1,800 US soldiers buried in the cemetery “idiots,” “The Atlantic” reported, citing four witnesses. The US delegation had officially justified the cancellation of the visit to the cemetery because the weather was too bad for a helicopter flight.
Since then, a controversy has arisen as to whether this report is true or not. Several US outlets confirmed the article or parts of it, including the AP and CNN news agency and the Trump news station Fox News. On the other hand, people around Trump denied that the president had made such statements.
Trump campaign sends “witness list”
Even his former security adviser, John Bolton, who dropped the dispute and just published a book highly critical of Trump, said he had not heard this. In his memoirs, he gives technical reasons for Trump’s decision not to attend the memorial service at the cemetery. Consequently, the rain made helicopter trips difficult and a trip would have been too long and cumbersome.
On Monday, Trump himself once again faced “worst” weather and helicopters, which he “understands a lot” about. A flight was not possible.
But apparently all this is not enough. The Trump election campaign sent an email Monday afternoon with 19 “witnesses” proving that “The Atlantic” made up the story. 13 of them were in Paris.
Among those mentioned are First Lady Melania Trump, then and now press secretary, Sarah Huckabee and Kayleigh McEnany, her chief of staff Mark Meadows, the US ambassador to France Jamie McCourt and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who aspires to succeed him. Trump applies. It also includes Zack Fuentes, an employee of former chief of staff John Kelly. Kelly himself, a former general in the United States Marine Corps, has remained silent until now.
Secretary of Defense Esper on the edge of the abyss?
In general, there is hardly a high-ranking officer on the sent “witness list”, whether active duty or veteran, who speaks for the president. Therein lies the great danger for Trump: that his relationship with the military will continue to cool rapidly.
It is said in the US media that Trump could soon replace Defense Secretary Esper, with whom he has long been dissatisfied. But given that the elections will take place in less than two months, it would be a risky undertaking. Esper is the third head of the Pentagon of the Trump administration.
Among other things, Esper has drawn the president’s chagrin when he said in June that he was against using the military against protesters amid riots in several American cities. The use of professional soldiers in the home should be only the “last resort” in the “most urgent and extreme situations”. “Currently we are not in that situation.”
Trump had previously threatened: “If a city or state refuses to take any action necessary to protect the lives and property of its citizens, then I will use the United States military and bring the problem up to them quickly. Solve.” Therefore, he had received much criticism from the military. And the criticism, as the last four years have shown, this president is not good at driving.
The only problem for Trump is that he arouses new resentment with each of these appearances. Anyway, the mood among the soldiers is not good.
According to a poll released in the summer by the Military Times and the Syracuse University Veterans Institute, only 37.4 percent of active members of the military are in favor of Trump’s reelection. 43.1 percent prefer their Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Trump, who did not serve himself, repeatedly expressed his admiration for the military at the beginning of his term. That love seems to have grown cold now.
