Donald Trump’s nephew said his uncle “doesn’t give a sh*t” about veterans or the military in an MSNBC interview on Monday, Mediaite reported.
Fred Trump III referenced the former president’s comments about the late John McCain, a former Arizona senator and Navy officer. In 2015, Trump said McCain is “not a war hero,” and reportedly called him a “loser” in 2018 after McCain’s death.
“This is a genuine hero. Let’s make no mistake about it. The fact that Donald called him, in essence, a ‘loser,’ I don’t get it,” Fred Trump III said. “But anyone who is disabled or anyone who he deems lesser than him is a loser, which, ok, that’s just the way he is. That ain’t gonna change.”
The comments come after Trump's most recent military-related controversy. Last week, Trump sparked outrage when he visited Arlington National Cemetery for a campaign photo-op. When a cemetery employee tried to prevent Trump’s team from filming on soldiers' graves, one of his aides pushed her, AP reported.
Last month Trump also faced backlash for saying the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award for civilians, was “better” than the Medal of Honor because the latter recipients are often killed or wounded.
“It’s almost impossible to believe that Trump as a Presidential candidate could sound this ignorant. Disordered language. Incoherent thinking. 5th grade stuff,” retired US Army General Barry McCaffrey wrote on X after the incident.
In 2020, The Atlantic reported that Trump privately said the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Paris was “filled with losers” after he canceled a visit to the cemetery. On the same trip, Trump reportedly referred to soldiers who had been killed in battle as “suckers,” though he has since denied the claims.
When asked by MSNBC host Nicole Wallace why people in the military still support Trump, his nephew said he had “no idea,” adding that his uncle “just doesn’t give a sh*t about them.”
