“Donald Trump said something outrageous yet again” hardly seems newsworthy at this point. Nonetheless, comments made by the short-fingered vulgarian at a campaign appearance Tuesday evening in Greensboro, North Carolina are raising eyebrows — not just for the offensiveness of what he said, but who he targeted: American soldiers.
In the middle of a rant about Iraq, which Trump called “crooked as hell,” he then wondered out loud about whether our soldiers had embezzled the cash our government sent over for reconstruction efforts:
How about bringing baskets of money, millions and millions of dollars, and handing it out? I want to know, who are the soldiers who had that job? Because I think they’re living very well right now, whoever they may be.
Trump’s comments were first noticed by CNBC’s John Harwood, who posted them on Twitter:
Trump suggested tonight that American soldiers in Iraq stole cash intended for reconstruction of Iraq, are "living very well" now
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) June 15, 2016
In response to press inquiries, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks insisted that Trump was referring to Iraqi soldiers, not Americans, but this explanation doesn’t hold up for two reasons.
First, as Michael Warren at the Weekly Standard pointed out, “[t]he duty of delivering money for reconstruction in Iraq was one for the American military, not the Iraqi military.”
Second, this wasn’t the first time Trump has made this accusation. As the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs noted, Trump said this on September 30, 2015:
Remember when they were handing out $50 million of cash, cash. They were going through Afghanistan. I want to know who the soldiers were that are carrying 50 million dollars cash! Cash! How stupid are we? I wouldn’t be surprised with those soldiers if the cash didn’t get there, I have to be honest.
It should be noted that Trump is correct that there were some cases of American military personnel skimming money from Iraq reconstruction funds, and those responsible were prosecuted. Some were caught trying to transport cash back home, while others attracted investigators’ attention with extravagant purchases that should have been out of reach for working class veterans: One Army captain bought a Hummer H3T and a BMW M3.
In other words, it’s not a case of those soldiers “living very well right now” — anyone who attempted this and was “living very well” got busted for doing so. As the Los Angeles Times reported, “Known cases of military theft have been relatively few and have been prosecuted aggressively.”
Still, it’s an odd campaign strategy from Trump, who has insisted throughout the campaign that he is the “only” one who will look out for our military and veterans, to be accusing them of widespread fraud.
But considering that Trump had to be reminded to actually donate the money he promised to the veterans back in January, perhaps he just needs to be reminded not to slander our soldiers while he’s campaigning?
Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter: @rumpfshaker.
