It is good that Trump finally visited American troops in a war zone. I commend him for this. However, as usual he told lies and brought politics into what should have been a non-political event.
Trump lied about how long it has been since troops got a pay raise and how much it was. Does the dotard think they don’t know the truth about their paychecks? Who is he fooling – I guess it’s his cult. He has told these lies many times before.
Trump also bashed Democrats. Totally inappropriate.
He signed MAGA hats. That is totally inappropriate, too. I blame Trump and the military for this one.
Sad!
Trump misled on military pay increases, bragged to troops about 10 percent raise they won't get https://t.co/9g8kJPvwZS pic.twitter.com/66JpGgH2bB
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) January 5, 2019
#APFactCheck: Trump makes false statements to cheering troops about their pay raise, and twisted ones about the border wall and Iran deal. https://t.co/LLTFFzxJs4
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) December 29, 2018
CNN Fact-Checks Trump’s Claim of Signing First Military Pay Raise in 10 Years: ‘That’s Just Not True’ https://t.co/9M4qB1avQa pic.twitter.com/efYlRe1WO5
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) December 27, 2018
Trump bragged to service members in Iraq about a 10 percent raise they’ve not been given https://t.co/seZWkZESkp
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 27, 2018
Trump misleads about military pay raises againhttps://t.co/Vwor4RH1Sl
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) December 27, 2018
An officer. https://t.co/KRAuVmRtrj
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 27, 2018
Trump to deployed troops today: “The Democrats don’t want to let us have strong borders.”
He simply can’t help himself. He has to politicize every outing with the military.
It’s beneath his office. And it puts those troops in an impossible position.
Totally inappropriate. pic.twitter.com/DTrepckPjC
— John Kirby (@johnfkirby63) December 27, 2018
Under DoD Directive 1344.10 “active duty personnel may not engage in partisan political activities.” Trump thrust this illegality upon the service people by messing with his campaign paraphernalia. Reporters should ask if he brought it. https://t.co/Oq5R9baj2A
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) December 27, 2018
This is your occasional reminder that Trump is violating all kinds of norms when he talks like this in front of the troops and it’s pretty repellent. https://t.co/1mIrCLNf3D
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) December 26, 2018
Then 2) He said he raised the military's pay by ten percent. FACT: It was raised 2.8% in 2018 and another 2.6% in the current NDAA.
— Ali Rogin (@AliABCNews) December 26, 2018
The President made an important visit to US troops in Iraq today. Why did he claim falsely he raised military pay for the first time in 10 years (it’s gone up every year for three decades but 1983) & by 10% (it went up less than 3%)? Troops know the truth. Who’s he speaking to?
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 27, 2018
Trump used his speech to the troops in Iraq to attack Democrats: “The Democrats don’t want to let us have strong borders.” (Presumably, many of the soldiers listening to his remarks are not registered Republicans) pic.twitter.com/M1MWCLkMMb
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) December 27, 2018
Three things can all be true at the same time:
* A President honorably visiting troops overseas
* Deployed troops grateful to see their President
* A White House using troops as political pawns in photo ops
— Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) December 27, 2018
Troops are prohibited from "politicking" in uniform. Trump is putting them in an incredibly awkward and uncomfortable position here, because — unlike Trump — most of these men and women actually care about abiding by rules and laws. https://t.co/1qEvSaSCsw
— Caroline Orr (@RVAwonk) December 26, 2018
Visiting the troops is great. Lying to the troops is not. https://t.co/cGT0NGhSGU
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 27, 2018
Trump dropped his promise Mexico would pay for a wall we don’t need. But he’s wiling to keep our government shut down until he makes Americans pay for it.
I get Trumpists are hypnotically devoted, but are there really Americans who like to be lied to & then pay extra for it?
— Steven Beschloss (@StevenBeschloss) December 26, 2018
Note to @realDonaldTrump: Had you served in the military you would know that each month we get a Leave and Earnings (LES) statement that shows our pay. So many military members know you are lying about their paycheck, but they are respectful so they don't say that to your face. https://t.co/4K5ZZKBZZn
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 27, 2018
Trump tweeted a video exposing the identity of several Navy SEALs. If you put that detail in a movie about a moron-becoming-POTUS, that detail would be thrown out as "too on the nose” and “too dumb even for a dumb President. We are in “stranger than fiction” land.
— Touré (@Toure) December 27, 2018
"Ending forever wars responsibly is a code the US hasn’t yet cracked, and Trump deserves credit for aiming to try. But the way Trump’s doing it means the US will be less likely to be able to build and hold together coalitions when future threats appear." https://t.co/nWCALKAAhJ
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) December 27, 2018
Not just inappropriate, a violation of the Hatch Act, if true.
Back when I was the Hatch Act lawyer in the White House (apparently they no longer employ one), this would mean campaign would have to pay appropriate costs for the trip. Reporters should ask if Trump Campaign will. https://t.co/o8rYMgVj0c
— Ian Bassin (@ianbassin) December 27, 2018
Centrist types should probably spend at least a minute worrying about the partisan skew of the military for every hour they spend on the partisan skew of university faculties. https://t.co/U2uViPGbFO
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) December 27, 2018
Commander in Chief lies to the troops he’s supposed to lead. Nothing to see here. . . https://t.co/dYobckvO9u
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 27, 2018
Sad! 