John Kelly delivered a scathing rebuke of his one-time boss, former President Donald Trump, and backed up several accusatory accounts alleging disregard for service members.
The former White House chief of staff confirmed to CNN a 2020 Atlantic story that claimed Trump was confused by service members who died in war, during a 2017 Memorial Day stop at Arlington National Cemetery.
“I do not understand. What’s in it for them?” Trump is said to have told Kelly at the time.
In another 2017 incident, Trump allegedly insisted that no wounded veterans get attention in a large military parade he was trying to plan.
“That’s the hero,” Kelly replied, according to his book, “The Divider: Trump in the White House.”
“In our society, there is only one group of people more heroic than them – and they are buried in Arlington.”
President Donald Trump lays flowers on the grave of son Kelly Robert at Arlington National Cemetery on May 29, 2017.Getty Images
“I don’t want them,” Trump allegedly responded. “It doesn’t look good to me.”
The episode mirrored a similar account in a recent profile by The Atlantic that recounted Trump’s anger when a wounded Army captain sang for the chairman.
Kelly also confirmed a 2018 anecdote that claimed Trump frowned for visiting a soldier’s grave at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France.
“Why do I have to go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers,” Trump allegedly said.
A cross marks the graves of US soldiers at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Chateau-Thierry, France.Getty Images Previous reports showed Trump disrespecting wounded US military veterans.Alec Tabak
Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who lost his then 29-year-old son to a land mine in Afghanistan in 2010, criticized Trump’s behavior.
“What can I add that hasn’t already been said?” Kelly told CNN. “One who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. Someone who has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.”
Kelly is Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, a role he has publicly described as “the hardest job I’ve ever had.”
Kelly is Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff.Getty Images
A fussy and troubled child, Trump’s parents sent him to the New York Military Academy in the 1960s, to instill some military discipline in him, according to several of his biographers.
Trump subsequently waived the military draft for the Vietnam War at least five times, including because of an alleged bone spur in his leg. Kelly was serving as a Marine at the time.
Decades later, Trump jokingly likened his personal Vietnam to avoiding sexually transmitted diseases during his escapades with various women. He also insisted that he did not agree with the conflict.
“Well, I’ve never been a fan of that war, I’ll be honest with you. I think it was a terrible war. I thought it was very far. No one, you know you’re talking about Vietnam, and at the time, no one had heard of that country,” Trump previously told “Good Morning Britain.”
Former Senator John McCain in November 1967 while he was being held in Vietnam.Getty Images
In addition to Kelly confirming some amazing anecdotes against his old boss Trump has had several public clashes with military families.
For example, in 2015, Trump glared at the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), questioning the Republican statesman’s status as a war hero.
“I like people who don’t get caught,” Trump said at the time.
Recently, Trump accused retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley of treason, which he said was once punishable by death.
President Donald Trump and General Mark Milley.REUTERS
Kelly continues to tear Trump apart for not being honest with the public.
“Someone who is dishonest about his stance on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women,” Kelly said in a statement.
Trump publicly asserted that veterans and military service members “love me.”
Throughout his presidency, he crowed about trying to raise military pay, fighting to make sure soldiers get the weapons they need, and working to end wars.
The Post reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Trump is the reigning 2024 front-runner to become the Republican standard-bearer, according to recent polls.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
