In a Labor Day column, conservative David Frum wondered why none of President Donald Trump's generals are racing to defend him against allegations about his insults of fallen soldiers.
It was reported last week that Trump called fallen soldiers "losers" and "suckers," consistent with Trump's attacks on POWs during the 2016 campaign and late Sen. John McCain.
"Amid the clamor, it's easy to overlook those who are not yelling, those who are keeping silent," wrote Frum. "Where are the senior officers of the United States armed forces, serving and retired—the men and women who worked most closely on military affairs with President Trump? Has any one of them stepped forward to say, 'That's not the man I know?'"
It was a similar question to one dodged by Trump aide Jason Miller during a CNN appearance Sunday evening in which he was asking why Gen. John Kelly hasn't come out to defend Trump. Miller claimed it was because Kelly likes to stay out of politics. That flies in the face of Kelly coming out to oppose Trump's use of the armed forces to fight protesters.
"How many wounded warriors have stepped forward to attest to Trump's care and concern for them? How many Gold Star families have stepped forward on Trump's behalf? How many service families?" asked Frum. "The silence is resounding. And when such voices do speak, they typically describe a president utterly lacking in empathy to grieving families, wholly uncomprehending of sacrifice and suffering."
Frum then remembered the incident when Trump promised the widow of a fallen soldier he would send her $25,000. It was only until the Washington Post reported that Trump reneged on the promise that he actually wrote the check.
Trump was then heartlessly dismissive of the death of Sgt. La David Johnson in a call to his wife. Trump called at the worst possible moment, Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson, a close family friend, was visiting the Johnson family at the time.
Then there was the time Trump attacked the parents of a fallen soldier, the lies about the Veterans Choice Act, and the lie that he would donate money from a charity event to the charities cited. Trump had to be forced to actually give up the money.
Read the full rundown of the horrific things Trump has done to veterans and soldiers in Frum's list.
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