PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2016-10-04 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Donald Trump Didn't Say Vets with PTSD Are 'Weak' (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • After a Retired American Warriors town hall campaign event was held on 3 October 2016 in Herndon, Virginia, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was widely accused of insultingly asserting that veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are weak. Occupy Democrats was one of many political outlets claiming Trump had called veterans with PTSD weak and had insulted those who required mental health services after serving, and that the news media largely ignored hist comments: The Washington Post also weighed in, framing Trump's comments as a gaffe: The media clearly hadn't missed the exchange, as numerous news outlets covered the controversy. The claim about what Trump said was one bolstered largely by its backlash, but much of the audience hadn't read or watched video of the town hall event in its entirety to determine whether Trump had really described veterans with PTSD as weak. Former congressman and retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Allen West was present at the event and strongly disputed media accounts of the exchange, which began with a question from a Retired American Warriors town hall attendee: Trump's complete response focused largely on committing to an increase in veterans' services, not on deriding disabled veterans. He indeed flattered folks in this room for being strong, but he also expressed empathy at length for those military personnel who had experienced horror stories which nobody would believe: Trump's remarks (at approximately the 0:55 minute mark) were not derisive: he maintained that veterans' mental health care was one of the issues he felt was least addressed, and he held that he commonly received similar questions when meeting with service members. Most critical reporting on the event elided Trump's key contextual assertion that we're losing so many great people that can be taken care of if they have proper care, So while it's true Trump described present veterans as strong during the town hall event, he didn't also describe veterans dealing with mental health issues as weak or unfit. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url