{"id":1039176,"date":"2024-08-16T17:24:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T21:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1039176"},"modified":"2024-08-16T17:24:01","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T21:24:01","slug":"jd-vance-defends-donald-trumps-shameful-comments-disparaging-our-nations-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/jd-vance-defends-donald-trumps-shameful-comments-disparaging-our-nations-veterans\/","title":{"rendered":"JD Vance DEFENDS Donald Trump\u2019s Shameful Comments Disparaging Our Nation\u2019s Veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In response to JD Vance <\/em>defending<\/em><\/a> Donald Trump\u2019s <\/em>insulting comments<\/em><\/a> about our nation\u2019s veterans, <\/em>DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstead of standing up for America\u2019s service members and veterans, JD Vance would rather stand behind Donald Trump, a man who has repeatedly insulted Americans who have bravely chosen to serve our country. Trump has referred to Americans who\u2019ve chosen to serve our country as \u2018suckers,\u2019 \u2018losers,\u2019 \u2018dopes,\u2019 and \u2018babies,\u2019 and in office, he pushed to cut funding for veterans\u2019 benefits. The Trump-Vance Project 2025 agenda would rob veterans and active duty troops of billions in benefits, and severely undermine the VA\u2019s ability to get our veterans the care they deserve. America\u2019s heroes in uniform deserve the very best, and voters will ensure they have it when they reject the Trump-Vance ticket in November.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW: JD Vance said it is \u201ctotally reasonable\u201d for Donald Trump to say the Medal of Freedom is \u201cmuch better\u201d than the Medal of Honor because the Medal of Honor goes to \u201csoldiers\u201d who are \u201cin very bad shape\u201d or \u201cdead.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vance<\/a>: \u201cI don\u2019t think him complimenting and saying a nice word about a person who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom is in any way denigrating those who received military honors. They\u2019re two different awards, and I think the president was saying some nice things about a person that he liked, and that\u2019s a totally reasonable thing to do.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump<\/a>: \u201cThat\u2019s the highest award you can get as a civilian. It\u2019s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor\u2026 But [the] civilian version, it\u2019s actually much better because everyone [who] gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they\u2019re soldiers. They\u2019re either in very bad shape because they\u2019ve been hit so many times by bullets or they\u2019re dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MSNBC<\/a>: \u201cDonald Trump insults veterans yet again\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newsweek<\/a>: \u201cDonald Trump\u2019s Medal Of Honor Remarks Spark Anger From Veterans\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has repeatedly disparaged our military: He\u2019s called veterans \u201csuckers\u201d and \u201closers,\u201d and attacked active-duty service members as \u201cdopes and babies.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Atlantic<\/a>: \u201cTrump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrump said, \u2018Why should I go to that cemetery? It\u2019s filled with losers.\u2019 In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as \u2018suckers\u2019 for getting killed.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cMoreover, people familiar with Mr. Trump\u2019s private conversations say he has long scorned those who served in Vietnam as being too dumb to have gotten out of it<\/strong>, as he did through a medical diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels. At other times, according to those familiar with the remarks, Mr. Trump has expressed bewilderment that people choose military service over making money.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cTrump unleashed his disdain, calling Afghanistan a \u2018loser war.\u2019<\/strong> That phrase hung in the air and disgusted not only the military leaders at the table but also the men and women in uniform sitting along the back wall behind their principals. They all were sworn to obey their commander in chief\u2019s commands, and here he was calling the war they had been fighting a loser war. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018You\u2019re all losers,\u2019 Trump said. \u2018You don\u2019t know how to win anymore.\u2019 \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Trump\u2019s comments] stunned nearly everyone in the room, and some vowed that they would never repeat them. Indeed, they have not been reported until now. \u2018I wouldn\u2019t go to war with you people,\u2019 Trump told the assembled brass. Addressing the room, the commander in chief barked, \u2018You\u2019re a bunch of dopes and babies.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hill<\/a>: \u201cPresident Trump on Wednesday minimized the injuries of several U.S. service members who suffered concussions during an Iranian missile attack<\/strong> on two Iraqi bases that house American personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Trump-Vance ticket\u2019s Project 2025 agenda would rip away benefits from veterans and active duty troops and undermine the VA\u2019s ability to fulfill its mission.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project 2025\u2019s Mandate for Leadership<\/a>: \u201cThe VA\u2019s Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) has assigned disability ratings to a growing number of health conditions over time; some are tenuously related or wholly unrelated to military service.<\/strong> The further growth in presumptive service-connected medical conditions pursued by Congress and Veteran Service Organizations, begun with Agent Orange and most recently for Burn Pits\/Airborne Toxins, has led to historic increases in mandatory VBA spending in recent years. The VA has a time-phased plan to reassess the VASRD and its ratings for compensation, but this internal process can be slow and laborious, requires Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approvals, and can become politically charged both in Congress and with VSOs. The next Administration should explore how VASRD reviews could be accelerated with clearance from OMB to target significant cost savings from revising disability rating awards for future claimants<\/strong> while preserving them fully or partially for existing claimants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raw Story<\/a>: \u201cProject 2025 will rob veterans and active duty troops of billions in benefits\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmong other recommendations, the plan proposes eliminating concurrent eligibility for both service-related disability benefits and military retirement benefits\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe plan also proposes to end enrollment in VA medical care for veterans<\/strong> in two low-priority groups to save an estimated $69 billion through 2032 and narrow eligibility for veterans disability by excluding disabilities that cannot be related to military service\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProject 2025 also calls for privatizing the Department of Defense\u2019s current TRICARE system offered to military families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fulcrum<\/a>: \u201cProject 2025 focuses on conservative political goals and extensive outsourcing, risking politicizing the VA further and undermining its ability to serve veterans effectively.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axios<\/a>: \u201cThis is undeniably a Trump-driven operation.<\/strong> The biggest tell: Johnny McEntee \u2014 one of Trump\u2019s closest White House aides, and his most fervent internal loyalty enforcer \u2014 is a senior adviser to Project 2025. One of the most powerful architects is Stephen Miller, a top West Wing adviser for the Trump administration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Week<\/a>: \u201cMany of Trump\u2019s indicated plans for a second term fall in line with the Project 2025 outline.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cRoberts told me that he views Heritage\u2019s role today as \u2018institutionalizing Trumpism.\u2019 <\/strong>This includes leading Project 2025, a transition blueprint that outlines a plan to consolidate power in the executive branch, dismantle federal agencies and recruit and vet government employees to free the next Republican president from a system that Roberts views as stacked against conservative power. The lesson of Trump\u2019s first year in office, Roberts told me, is that \u2018the Trump administration \u2026 simply got a slow start. And Heritage and our allies in Project 2025 believe that must never be repeated.\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vance stands by Trump, who repeatedly broke his promises to service members and veterans. As president, Trump proposed cuts to veterans\u2019 benefits and left the Department of Veterans Affairs in turmoil after putting his wealthy MAGA allies at the helm.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ProPublica<\/a>: \u201cTrump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago Buddies Tried to Get the VA to Sell Access to Veterans\u2019 Medical Records\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFormer President Donald Trump empowered associates from his private club to pursue a plan for the Department of Veterans Affairs to monetize patient data, according to documents newly released by congressional investigators. As ProPublica first reported in 2018, a trio based at Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago resort weighed in on policy and personnel decisions for the federal government\u2019s second-largest agency, despite lacking any experience in the U.S. government or military.<\/strong> While previous reporting showed the trio had a hand in budgeting and contracting, their interest in turning patient data into a revenue stream was not previously known.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military Times<\/a>: \u201cTrump\u2019s \u2018Mar-a-Lago Three\u2019 had unusual, improper access on vets policy issues, VA now says\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ProPublica<\/a>: \u201cThe Mar-a-Lago Crowd spoke with VA officials daily, the documents show, reviewing all manner of policy and personnel decisions. They prodded the VA to start new programs, and officials traveled to Mar-a-Lago at taxpayer expense to hear their views. \u2018Everyone has to go down and kiss the ring,\u2019 a former administration official said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA Today<\/a>: \u201c[President Donald Trump\u2019s proposed budget plan] would also slash individual unemployment benefits for disabled veterans by more than $40.8 billion over 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military.com<\/a>: \u201cElderly Vets Could Face Benefits Cut Under Trump Budget\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVeterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin defended Wednesday a proposal in President Donald Trump\u2019s federal budget plan that would cut a benefit paying thousands of dollars annually to disabled elderly veterans.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to JD Vance defending Donald Trump\u2019s insulting comments about our nation\u2019s veterans, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:  \u201cInstead of standing up for America\u2019s service members and veterans, JD Vance would rather stand behind Donald Trump, a man who has repeatedly insulted Americans who have bravely chosen to serve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1039176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJD Vance DEFENDS Donald Trump\u2019s Shameful Comments Disparaging Our Nation\u2019s Veterans - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/jd-vance-defends-donald-trumps-shameful-comments-disparaging-our-nations-veterans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-16T21:24:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-16T21:24:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire DePree\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/jd-vance-defends-donald-trumps-shameful-comments-disparaging-our-nations-veterans\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/jd-vance-defends-donald-trumps-shameful-comments-disparaging-our-nations-veterans\/\",\"name\":\"JD Vance DEFENDS Donald Trump\u2019s Shameful Comments Disparaging Our Nation\u2019s Veterans - 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