Sen. Tammy Duckworth: "If Donald Trump had been on the battlefield with me in Iraq back in November

[riversedge]

Sen. Tammy Duckworth: "If Donald Trump had been on the battlefield with me in Iraq back in November 2004, I doubt I ever would've made it home."

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Tammy Duckworth
Courtesy of the Office of Tammy Duckworth




No, We Weren’t ‘Suckers’ or ‘Losers’

The military colleagues who saved my life knew what service means. Trump, in contrast, lets his personal insecurities endanger America’s national security.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/trumps-disrespect-endangers-troops/616409/

September 19, 2020

Tammy Duckworth
U.S. Senator for Illinois



If Donald Trump had been on the battlefield with me in Iraq back in November 2004, I doubt I ever would’ve made it home.

In the Army, part of our soldier’s creed involves never leaving a fallen comrade behind. The only reason I am alive today is that, after a rocket-propelled grenade exploded in the Black Hawk helicopter I was co-piloting, my buddies embodied that creed. They thought I was dead but still risked their own safety to bring my body back home to my family. Only when they got me to a rescue aircraft did they realize that I was still breathing. Then they ignored their own injuries, refusing care until the medic tended to me first.



Read: ‘The military has seen the writing on the wall’

My crewmates were heroes that afternoon. Yet apparently, in Trump’s eyes, each of us in that aircraft must have been a “loser” because our helicopter got shot down by the enemy. Had we been killed, he very well might call us “suckers,” too. After all, those are the terms that, according to The Atlantic’s reporting, the commander in chief has used to describe members of the armed forces who have been killed, captured, or shot down in battle. He also told his staff that “nobody wants to see” wounded warriors like me who lost limbs fighting to keep other Americans safe.

Trump might not like seeing visible proof of my injuries, but I couldn’t care less. To me, the wounds and wheelchairs of those who have worn our nation’s uniform should be considered badges of honor. I’m able to serve in the Senate today because the ethos of the United States military is the exact opposite of the craven, me-first mentality that he has shown every hour of every day of his gold-plated, privileged life.




From all he’s said, from all he’s done, it’s impossible for me to believe that, like my crewmates, Trump would have risked his own life to save mine or that of any other American in that dusty field in 2004. But Trump never would have been in Iraq with us that day, because he fundamentally cannot fathom the notion of sacrificing for your nation. He can’t comprehend the true meaning of courage or the idea of fighting for something greater than himself, his bank account, or his poll numbers. The Atlantic’s story is only more evidence that he isn’t able to grasp what the military is all about. He doesn’t understand service, so he doesn’t understand America’s service members: the heroes who have allowed him to sleep soundly high up in that gilded Fifth Avenue tower................................





Tammy Duckworth and Sherrod Brown
Senator Tammy Duckworth speaking with Senator Sherrod Brown in August, 2020 (Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty)

[Rorey]

1. We need to keep attention on what his opinion of the military is

Thanks to Tammy Duckworth for not letting this slip into the abyss of his many atrocities.

[keithbvadu2]

2. #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories

#RevolutionaryWarAirportStories
Dearest Martha,
As we await boarding at Dulles I have found one of my soldiers who likes to be called "THE DONALD" has contracted the bone spur and has decided to fly standby. I am most certain we will not see him in battle.
All my love, George

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[czarjak]

3. "I don't get it"...

He tells you how stupid he is!

[Zorro]

4. Trump wants to turn us into a nation of cowards

Just like himself.

That's why it's "fear fear fear" from his campaign ads.