Sweeney: The truth about Trump’s military record

A recent Opinion about Donald Trump’s military support as president failed to mention a single instance where he actually supported the military (“Trump’s record with military speaks volumes”). Mr. George Roof stated that Trump authorized the launching of 59 missiles against Syria, which I would qualify as aggressive military action. Moving the U.S. Embassy inflamed relations in the Middle East, putting more U.S. military at risk for those actions. The Abraham Accords have nothing to do with the U.S. military; it was a diplomatic agreement that has now been violated by Israel itself. Setting foot in North Korea — a fascist, authoritarian government that has repressed basic human rights of its people for decades — was nothing more than a training trip for Trump, to set the path for what Trump wants to do in America.

Maybe Mr. Roof has forgotten that Trump took funds away from the U.S. military to build a wall. Maybe Mr. Roof has declared that Americans caught and detained during wars are suckers and losers. Maybe Mr. Roof has forgotten that Trump failed to increase the military, which he promised during his 2016 candidacy for president. Maybe Mr. Roof has forgotten that Trump’s own appointed chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, has declared Trump to be a fascist and now waits in fear of being court-martialed for speaking out. Maybe Mr. Roof has forgotten that Trump’s own secretary of defense Mark Esper has suggested that Trump will use the U.S. military against its own citizens for exercising their First Amendment right and that Trump is a national security risk. Maybe Mr. Trump has forgotten that Gen. John Kelly, a Trump White House chief of staff, described Trump as “a person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about.” All these, among many other prior Trump staffers — not to even mention the hundreds of Republicans who have come out against his election back to the White House.

And yet, we are asked to believe Mr. Roof’s gaslighting about Trump over those who worked directly with Trump during his presidency.

No, Mr. Roof. Donald Trump — who avoided military service five times because a podiatrist owed Trump’s daddy a favor or because he was in school — is not a supporter of the military. Any president who doesn’t understand and will not live up to the U.S. Constitution does not deserve to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States.

George “Jody” Sweeney

Camden

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