The former Chief of Staff to former Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump went on the record to confirm disgusting comments about American military members and veterans.
John Kelly says he heard those comments firsthand.
“What can I add that has not already been said?” John Kelly said, when asked if he wanted to weigh in on his former boss in light of recent comments made by other former Trump officials. “A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.
Among the details confirmed by Kelly:
- Trump’s inability to understand America’s respect for POWs. He openly called John McCain a “loser,” as well as President George H. W. Bush, who was also shot down as a Navy pilot in World War II.
- In 2018, Trump refused to visit the graves of American soldiers buried in the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris because, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”
- During that same trip to France, Trump said that 1,800 US Marines killed in the Belleau Wood were “suckers” for getting killed.
- In 2017, Trump remarked on a military parade he was trying to plan for himself. Trump didn’t want wounded soldiers in his parade because, “It doesn’t look good for me.” Kelly attempted to explain to Trump, “Those are the heroes. In our society, there’s only one group of people who are more heroic than they are – and they are buried over in Arlington.”