President Bone-Spurs
A Republican Disgrace
“I think he’s unfit for office. He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country.”
Trump’s Secretary of Defence Mark Esper
The recent events commemorating D-Day reminded me of yet another Republican disgrace, namely, Donald (Bone-Spur) Trump’s cowardly contempt for those who fought, died, or were wounded or captured in America’s wars.
Trump pretends to support American military personnel, but throughout his life he has mocked the very idea of service, sacrifice, and discipline; instead, he smears veterans and engages in the phoney “heroic” self-branding and make-believe nonsense that we see, for example, in his trading cards.
This is a life-long pattern:
In his teens, Trump’s “incorrigible and arrogant behavior and insubordination” prompted his parents to send him to a Military Academy, where he further deteriorated into “an entitled, self-aggrandizing narcissist who no one could control.” His grades there were D+ to C-, and his proudest achievement was to be voted a “Lady’s Man.” A fellow cadet from those years at the academy called Trump a “heartless, obnoxious son of a bitch.”
“an entitled, self-aggrandizing narcissist” and a “heartless, obnoxious son of a bitch” At a later date, Trump (and his domineering father Fred) harshly criticized Trump’s older brother (Fred Jr.) for joining the U.S. Air National Guard.
And when it came to his own service during the Vietnam war, Trump infamously received repeated medical deferments for “bone-spurs.”
[The daughters of the podiatrist who gave Trump his medical deferrals later said that the diagnosis was a favor to Trump senior, who happened to be the landlord where the doctor lived and practiced.]After the war, Trump’s bone spurs miraculously disappeared. When later asked about his deferment, Trump had the narcissistic nerve to compare a soldier’s fear of death or injury to his own fear of sexually transmitted diseases, saying “if you’re young, and in this era, we had our own Vietnam. It’s called the dating game.”
Trump’s cowardly and disgraceful contempt for military service was especially evident during the 2016 presidential campaign:
Regarding John McCain, who suffered bravely through five and a half years of torture in a VietCong prison, Trump infamously declared that McCain was “not a war hero” and said in a televised interview: “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
President Nixon welcoming home from captivity a “true American hero.” That year Trump also skipped a Republican debate for a “fundraiser for veterans.” Although the event raised $6 million, none of the money went to any veteran charities until investigative journalists revealed that Trump had actually pocketed the money for himself. Trump was even fined $2 million by a judge for “deceptive practices tied to the event.”
As President, we can follow numerous examples of his cowardly and disgraceful attitude toward Americans who have served, and especially for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice:
When Trump chose Marine General James Mattis as Defence Secretary, he called Mattis “the closest thing to Gen. George Patton that we have.” But when Trump later fired Mattis (and Homeland Security Advisor General H.R. McMaster) for disagreeing with him, he called them “a bunch of dopes and babies.” Worse, he suggested that people like Mattis should be executed for treason. Here we have the bone-spur coward talking about executing a 40-year Marine General - for disagreeing with him!
In 2018 during a trip to France to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1, Trump referred to the 1,800 US Marines buried at the Belleau Wood Cemetery as “suckers,” and then aborted a visit to another cemetery - due to concern that the rainy weather would affect his hair. As an excuse, he told his security detail: ”Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”
Trump also refused to lower the White House flag to half-staff on John McCain’s death, saying the “guy was a fucking loser.” It took a major intervention by his family to force him to begrudgingly lower the flag.
During his time in office he never wanted to be seen with veteran amputees, because “it doesn’t look good for me,” and he discouraged inclusion of disabled veterans in his events because “nobody wants to see that.”
He also insulted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (who testified against him) by putting his rank in “air quotes” as if Vindman hadn’t earned his military rank.
According to John Kelly, Trump praised Adolf Hitler and lamented that his senior staff were not as loyal to him as the Nazi leader’s officers were.
On Memorial Day 2017 Trump visited the Arlington grave of (his Chief of Staff) John Kelly’s son (who died in Afghanistan in 2010). Kelly later reported that Trump said to him, at his son’s grave site, “I don’t get it. What was in it for him?”
I’ll let 4-Star Marine General John Kelly (who spent 40 years serving his country in uniform, who Trump chose as his Chief of Staff, and whose own son died in uniform) write the conclusion to this sad tale of Trump’s disgraceful cowardice, narcissism, and hypocrisy. In a televised interview Kelly described Donald J. Trump as:
“A person who thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all “suckers” because “there is nothing in it for them”;
who did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees;
who demonstrated contempt on TV during the 2016 campaign for the Kahn family and all Gold Star families;
who rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defence are ‘losers’;
who cavalierly suggests that a selfless warrior [Gen. James Mattis] who has served his country for 40 years should lose his life for treason;
who can’t fathom the idea of doing something for someone other than himself;
who admires autocrats and murderous dictators;
who has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.
There is nothing more that can be said. God help us.”
John Kelly, Oct.3, 2023
Donald (Bone-Spurs) Trump is now and always has been a disgrace to every American military man or woman who has ever served their country.
But I see a greater disgrace in the Republican Party itself for kowtowing to this make-believe hero and for endorsing Trump to be Commander-in-Chief yet again.
And I have nothing but contempt for any American who will close their mind and stoop so low and find any excuse to vote for this lying, phoney, contemptible bone-spur coward.
Trump supporters, shame on you.
I’m not certain that Trump supporters are familiar with the notion of shame.
If you are a person who loves this country, how can you not be ashamed to vote for Donald.
If you want to vote for Donald, look in the mirror, and swear you’re not ashamed of yourself.