PRESIDENT Donald Trump yesterday faced a “Bidenlash” after he allegedly made comments that were disrespectful to American soldiers.
The Atlantic magazine reported from four anonymous sources that Trump had described dead US soldiers as “loser and suckers”.
Trump yesterday morning denied the report and took to Twitter: “The Atlantic magazine is dying, like most magazines, so they make up a fake story in order to gain some relevance.
“Story already refuted, but this is what we are up against. Just like the Fake Dossier. You fight and and fight, and then people realize it was a total fraud!”
Then later yesterday in an increasingly fractious contest, it all got very personal. In his most fervent backlash against Trump to date, his opponent in November’s presidential election, Senator Joe Biden, hit out very strongly at Trump and made much of his own son’s service.
Looking genuinely angry and addressing what he called “President Trump’s disregard for our military and veterans”, the former vice-president said: “Quite frankly if what is written in The Atlantic is true, it’s disgusting. It affirms what most of us believe to be true, that Donald Trump is not fit to be in the job of President and Commander-in-Chief.
“The President reportedly said, and I emphasise reportedly said, that those who signed up to serve instead of doing something more lucrative were suckers.
“Let me be real clear. When my son was an assistant US attorney and he volunteered to go to Kosovo when the war was going on as a civilian, he wasn’t a sucker.
“When my son volunteered and joined the United States military as an attorney general and went to Iraq for a year, he wasn’t a sucker.
“The service men and women he served with, particularly those who did not come home, were not losers. If these statements are true, the President should humbly apologise to every gold star mother and father and every blue star family that he has denigrated and insulted.
“Who the heck does he think he is?
“Is it true? Well we have heard from his own mouth his characterisation of American hero Senator John McCain as a loser in 2015. Donald Trump said ‘he was not a war hero, I like people who weren’t captured’. Well, good for him. And his dismissal of traumatic brain injuries suffered by troops serving in Iraq as mere headaches, not too long ago. And he stood by, not even raising the issue with Vladimir Putin, while the Kremlin put bounties on the heads of American troops in Afghanistan.
“Duty, honour, country – these are values that drive our service members, it’s an all-voluntary outfit. President Trump has demonstrated he has no sense of service, no loyalty to any cause other than himself.”
Biden finished his speech by saying he is always cautioned not to lose his temper, adding: “This may be as close as I’ve come this campaign.”
Some pundits were hailing Biden’s withering attack as a possible turning point in the campaign, and even some of Trump’s supporters were rattled, suggesting that Biden had struck home hard.
Meanwhile, the election itself officially started with the state of North Carolina sending out absentee voter ballots. And there’s still more than eight weeks to go.
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