Trump: Vets With PTSD Aren’t ‘Strong’ Enough, Just ‘Can’t Handle It’

Trump Disgraces, Demeans Veterans Again

Twenty veterans every day in America die by suicide, but Donald Trump on Monday says they, and other vets with PTSD, do so because they are not “strong” enough and just “can’t handle it.”

The Republican nominee for President, and Commander-in-Chief, made the stunning remarks in Herndon, Virginia, in front of a group of veterans, whom the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins and Jerry Boykin had been speaking to in support of Trump.

“When you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat — and they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over and you’re strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can’t handle it,” Trump told the Vets group, a Texas-based PAC named Retired American Warriors. “And they see horror stories. They see events that you couldn’t see in a movie. Nobody would believe it.”

The GOP nominee had been asked if he he would “support and fund a more holistic approach to solve the problems and issues of veteran suicide, PTSD, TBI [traumatic brain injuries] and other military mental and behavioral health issues,” facing veterans, as Politico reports, and if he would “take steps to restore the historic role of our chaplains and the importance of spiritual fitness and spiritual resiliency programs.”

Trump, who received five draft deferments, including one for bad feet, has previously mocked and cheated veterans, including, infamously, Sen. John McCain, a POW for over five years whom he said is not a war hero. He also attacked a Gold Star family, the Khans, who spoke out against him in August at the Democratic National Convention.

Independent conservative presidential candidate Evan McMullin offered his thoughts via Twitter:

By contrast, President Barack Obama just last week encouraged vets who are struggling to reach out and ask for help.

“There’s nothing weak about asking for help,” President Obama said.

Some responses via Twitter:

 

Video via Talking Points Memo
Image by Matt “AJ” Johnson via Flickr and a CC license