General Discussion

Nevilledog

(51,094 posts) Sun Sep 6, 2020, 11:10 PM Sep 2020

EPIC John Fugelsang thread on Trump and the military

Link to tweet

Unrolled thread here:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1276914081627279361.html

(1). Here's a thread for anyone who's been conned into believing Donald Trump cares about the US military or our troops.

-Faked a disability 5 times to avoid a war he didn't oppose
-5 non-rich guys went to Vietnam in his place
-Tried to kick homeless vets off 5th Ave

(2)
-Stole from vets via his fraud online U
-Lied about donating $1 million to veterans' nonprofits
-Said he'd make troops commit war crimes
-Pardoned a guy who committed war crimes
-Falsely claimed he signed Vets' Choice into law
-Insulted POWs
-Insulted Gold Star Families

(3)
-Fined for misusing funds from 2016 Vets fundraiser
-Called Generals "dopes & babies"
-Falsely accused US service members of stealing funds for Iraqi reconstruction
-Deployed 5,600 soldiers to the border in a midterm election stunt

(4)
-Personally insulted Generals Allen, Mattis, Kelly, Powell, McChrystal; Purple Heart recipients Mueller & Vindman, & Admiral McRaven
-lied about donating $6 million to veterans groups in 2016
-Sided with Putin against all branches of military intelligence

(5)
-Blew off Veterans Day cemetery ceremony in France bc it was raining.
-What he said to Myeshia Johnson, widow of ambushed Sgt. La David Johnson. Not gonna repeat it.
-He's trying to cut SNAP. Do you understand how much that hurts military families & vets?

(6)
-His budget seeks to cut medicaid. Do you understand how much this hurts military families & vets?
-Froze pay for all Fed agencies via Executive Order - Fed workforce is 31% veteran, approx 623k vets
-Undid regulations on predatory lenders who target military members

(7)
-He's trying to destroy the Post Office, which employs thousands of veterans
-Declared a fake national emergency to divert billions from the Pentagon to fund a wall he lied that Mexico would pay for
-Downplayed & trivialized troops w/traumatic brain injuries in Jan 2020

(8)
-Insulted troops with PTSD
-Used the national guard to tear gas US protestors so he could be photographed w/an upside down bible
-Forced West Point cadets to travel back for graduation during a plague, endangering their health & the health of their families, for a photo-op

(9)
-Said 26,000 military sexual assaults were to be 'expected' bc America lets women serve
-announced that transgender troops could no longer serve, via a tweet, without informing the Pentagon.
-Invited the Taliban to Camp David on the anniversary of 9/11

(10)
-claimed, stupidly, that his military budget made up for his lack of military experience
-Told wife #2 he'd disown their daughter if she entered the service
-remember his fake 'veterans hotline?'
Here's What Happens if You Call the Veterans Hotline Donald Trump Set Up in 2015
TheBlaze decided to investigate.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/2016/02/16/heres-what-happens-if-you-call-the-veterans-hotline-donald-trump-set-up-in-2015?fbclid=IwAR3g6ORxJmg7sALNtBz2Foq6QOYAgruPfFi8EZK5g3vBNsL0hpdN_D78aGA

(11)
-Lied to US troops in Iraq that he'd given them their 1st pay raise in over a decade
-Trump Institute fired a vet for 'absences' after he was deployed to Afghanistan
-Claimed if an armored Humvee was hit by an IED, soldiers "go for a little ride upward & they come down."

(12)
-blamed military leaders for the deadly failed Yemen mission he approved
-He can't stop defending the Confederacy
-said his expensive prep school gave him “more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military.”

(13)
-attacked Navy Captain Crozier, who sounded COVID alarm for his sick sailors
-used military against peaceful protests by citizens of color
-Had gov't give hydroxychloroquine to 1300 vets w/COVID-19 despite evidence it was dangerous
-didn't know what happened at Pearl Harbor

(14)
-pulled out of Syria w/no notice, abandoning US allies
-Russia posted footage of Syrian base, built by US, that they now own
-exploited 4 murdered Americans in #Benghazi for crass political purposes, after his own party had cleared the Obama WH in multiple investigations

(15)
-He keeps trying to destroy NATO
-BC of his govt shutdown, members of US military worked w/out pay for the 1st time
-No Other President Would Have Survived Defrauding Veterans’ Charities
washingtonmonthly.com/2019/11/11/no-…

(16)
-Said in 2018 that he was too busy to visit the troops: "I don’t think it’s overly necessary"
-Ordered Navy to Strip Medals From Prosecutors in Eddie Gallagher's War Crimes Trial, even though Gallagher was extremely guilty.
Trump Orders Navy to Strip Medals From Prosecutors in War Crimes Trial
President Trump lashed out at military lawyers who tried the case of Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was acquitted of killing a captured teenage Islamic State fighter.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/us/politics/trump-navy-seal-war-crimes.html

(17)
Now this. Read it to a #maga or #kag loved one

-Putin is financing the murder of our troops & Trump can't stop siding with him.
-Russia bought the murder of our soldiers.
-Trump has known for months and has chosen to say and do NOTHING about it.

Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says
The Trump administration has been deliberating for months about what to do about a stunning intelligence assessment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/russia-afghanistan-bounties.html?fbclid=IwAR0WMHneJm7rT8oNkI1ip3Lpu6COdjJ-YjgoL8zEUrD-wTcISW8jg2yTLGs

(18)

The Pentagon & cabinet presented him with many options:
-a diplomatic complaint to Moscow
-a demand that they stop offering bounties for murder of US troops stop
-an escalating series of sanctions

Trump has refused to say or do anything.

(19)

Trump stood in front of the West Point graduates after forcing their families to risk their health.

He knew that Putin, who owns his debt via Deutsche Bank, was paying Islamic militants for murdering US troops.

He gave his speech and did nothing.

(20)
Well, that's not actually fair.
Trump did a few things after learning Putin was paying for dead US troops in Afghanistan.

He lobbied other countries for Russia to be let back into the G7.

He also talked to Putin June 1.
Days later he signed off on a plan....

(21)
...to permanently withdraw up to 1/3 of the approx 34k U.S. troops currently based in Germany.

Which is part of Putin's dream of dismantling NATO.

DT never told Germany he was going to do this.

Oh, and in May he withdrew from the Open Skies treaty, like Putin wanted.

(22)
Trump did Putin's bidding in Syria this year.

He abandoned our Kurdish allies to slaughter.

They fought by our side and died bc they trusted our leadership.

He then handed over a US military base in Syria to Russian soldiers, to the delight of Russian news media

(23)
Remember Helsinki?
He groveled before Putin & asserted that Russia didn't interfere in the US election?

And he trusts Vlad over all US military intelligence?

"He just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be"

Trump sides with Putin over US intelligence
US President Donald Trump, in a stunning rebuke of the US intelligence community, declined on Monday to endorse the US government's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election…
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/16/politics/donald-trump-putin-helsinki-summit/index.html

(24)
Then, days later, said he wasn't being servile to Putin and we all just didn't understand what he said?

"I realized that there is a need for some clarification...The sentence should have been...'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia.'"

24 hours later, Trump claims he misspoke in Helsinki, meant to say Russia did have reason to meddle in election

President Donald Trump on Tuesday attempted to clarify his comments in Helsinki, saying his misspoke when he said he did not see why Russia would have meddled in the election and said he meant to say…
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/24-hours-later-trump-claims-he-misspoke-helsinki-meant-say-n892166

(25)
Well in May 2020, on a phone call with V/Putin, Trump told him the investigation into Russian interference in the election was a "hoax."

Again, he chose Putin over US military intelligence.

He had known about Putin's boutny on the heads of US troops for almost 2 months.

(26)
But even during the period where DT officially accepted the Russian attack on our election he:

-still wouldn't hold them accountable
-refused to take any action on Russian interference in our next election.
-turned a blind eye to the growing Russian cyber action in the U.S.

(27)
But this thread isn't about Putin; or Trump's corruption, racism, ignorance, his record of sexual assaults, his incompetence, or the vast amount of things he's been wrong about.

This is just about his despicable treatment of the US Armed Forces.

(28)
-He said "our military is a joke" in a 2016 debate w/HRC
-He fired Lt Col Vindman for doing his duty
-He fired Vindman's brother for being Vindman's brother
-Plans to de-fund Stars & Stripes
-He made our military stand down & watch allies be slaughtered & our base overrun

(29)
-Had military pit stops in Ireland go hours out of their way to stay at his resort so our tax$ would be pumped into his property
-His stupid wall-based 2017 govt shutdown hurt vets & made veteran memorials unavailable to public.
-He bloody saluted a North Korean general

(29)
But there's no greater proof of his indifference to the troops he uses as props than what happened in Niger.

On 10/4/17 4 US service members died in Niger.

It took Trump 12 days to comment publicly on the soldiers’ deaths.
And when he was finally asked about the deaths...

(30)

...at a press conference, he deflected by falsely accusing President Obama of never calling the families of soldiers killed in the line of duty.

This was a really dumb lie, but debunking the lie became a bigger media narrative than why those men died, or why Trump lied.

(31)

Then the commander-in-chief passed the buck & blamed generals for the 4 dead soldiers.

He also referred to the US armed forces as "my military."

newsweek.com/trump-blames-g…

(32)

@SenJohnMcCain demanded transparency, hearings and answers on Niger.

He's not around now.

And then there's Trump's other Benghazi, in Yemen.

(33)
A brutally tragic raid that killed 3 special forces members & 30 civilians, 10 of whom were women & children.

It was a mission Obama had refused to approve.
Trump approved it over dinner w/Bannon & Jared.

He didn't show up in the Situation Room.
Questions mount over botched Yemen raid approved by Trump
US military officials say Trump approved counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence or ground support
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/02/trump-approved-yemen-raid-five-days-after-inauguration

(34)
Most of us didn't realize we were at war in Yemen.
Because we aren't. Our troops are used as proxies for Saudi Arabia.

William Owens, father of slain Chief Petty Officer William Owens refused to meet w/Trump at Dover after his son's death.

Nine young children killed: The full details of botched US raid in Yemen
Working with a journalist who visited the targeted Yemeni village after the raid and gathered survivors' testimony, we have collected the names and ages of 25 civilians reportedly killed.
https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2017-02-09/nine-young-children-killed-the-full-details-of-botched-us-raid-in-yemen

(35)
"When you lose a $75 million airplane and, more importantly, an American life is lost … I don’t believe you can call it a success," - Sen. John McCain.

@seanspicer demanded McCain apologize and called the Yemen raid, which killed an 8 year old girl, 'a huge success.'

(36)
Now I know that none of this will matter to many Trump supporters; their sole agenda is "owning the libs."

Trump can hug a flag & hold up a Bible & tear gas nonviolent protestors he calls "thugs" and a certain kind of authoritarian need is met for millions of ppl.

(37)
Trump is a confidence artist. He conned contractors, casino bondholders, Trump U students, Trump Foundation Donors, 3 wives, and, in 2016, 62 million easy marks.

He says what they want to hear and he is given blind obedience & loyalty. Don't let it make you crazy.

(38)
I love my conservative friends & loved ones. But in lifetime I've seen them be really wrong about:

-Nixon
-Vietnam
-Reaganomics
-AIDS
-LGBT rights
-Iran Contra
-Impeaching Clinton
-Bush's tax plan economics
-Iraq WMDs
-being greeted as liberators
-Sarah Palin
-Drug War

(39)
-Obama's birth certificate
-that Obamacare had death panels
-that Obamacare would add to the deficit
-that Trump gave a damn act the military.

That's not to say Dems haven't been wrong ab things too.

But being wrong is different from being destructive and evil.

(40)

Never forget how Trump clowned around during the National Anthem before the 2020 superbowl.

He didn't know he was being filmed and it's all you need to know about him. Google it if you haven't seen the video.

Kaepernick never deliberately mocked the anthem.

(41)
Over 125k Americans dead from virus & he's doing nothing.

Russia paying bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan & he's doing nothing.

Police killing unarmed ppl has caused massive protests & he won't say 'racism' & praises monuments to a White Supremacist enemy of the USA.

(42)

Putin denies it. Whose side do you think Trump will take?

(43)

I had the strangest election night of anybody in 2016.
Seriously - mine was more surreal than HRC's.

Broadcast a live special on SiriusXM w/a cast of increasingly traumatized comedians.

Walked across an empty Times Square at midnight. I felt like Will Smith & his dog.

(44)
I spent the rest of the night until sunrise as a guest panelist on @GMB.

I was on a panel with Piers Morgan, Ann Coulter & Jerry Springer. Told you it was surreal.

(45)
The day after Election Day, having not slept, I went on the air & predicted that Trump would one day resign.

And I still think he will resign, whether he wins or not.

What I didn't count on was this curious moment -

(46)
If these new allegations prove even partially true then we've all got to start demanding that Combover Caligula resign the office.

Every day.

He can declare victory, buy OAN & start paying defense attys for the rest of his life. But the time has come.

#TrumpMustResign