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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump often believes he has accomplished more for the military and veterans than any other president in recent memory. But he still has to embark on a major traditional presidential pilgrimage for the army: a visit to troops deployed in a war zone.
While he was leaving Tuesday for Florida to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in his private Palm Beach club, Trump said he would soon correct that oversight.
"I'm going to a war zone," he said in response to a question from a reporter about his support for the troops. He did not specify when he would make the trip or in which conflict zone he would visit. One official said that a White House team had recently returned from the beginning to schedule a visit.
This omission is part of a long list of measures to violate the norms that underline the growing relationship between the president and the military, which celebrates Trump's investments in defense spending, but fears that some consider efforts to politicize their services.
Just this week, Trump criticized the 2011 mission commander who murdered al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, retired Admiral William McRaven. "It would not have been nice if we had Osama bin Laden much earlier than that, it would not have been nice," Trump said.
The latest controversy followed a series of concerns expressed by former senior officers about Trump's understanding of the role of the military. It comes when White House assistants and defense officials have alarmed the president's disinterest in briefings on deploying troops overseas.
Shortly after taking office, Trump appeared to attempt to evade the death of a military member during a failed operation in Yemen, claiming that mission planning had begun under the mandate of his predecessor and was supported by senior military commanders.
"They explained what they wanted to do, the generals, who are highly respected," he told "Fox & Friends" at the time. "And they lost Ryan."
Trump won the White House for the end of US military engagements abroad, but he faced many challenges similar to those of his predecessors. More US troops are now deployed in conflict zones than when he took office.
According to Aides, Trump fears going to conflict zones where he does not fully support the mission. Trump reluctantly supported the influx of troops into Afghanistan last year and reinforced US deployments in Iraq, Syria and Africa to fight ISIS and other extremist groups.
Trump said last week in an interview with "Fox News Sunday" that he was "very opposed to the Iraq war." I think it was a big mistake, that it should never have happened. In fact, Trump offered lukewarm support for the invasion at the time, but began to question the mission after the conflict began in March 2003.
Some of us here say that Trump's decision to send thousands of soldiers on active service to the US-Mexico border shortly before the November 6 mid-term elections was a real political coup. And Defense Department officials said they had rejected the Homeland Security Department's – and White House-backed – requests for active armed troops to reinforce border patrol agents, saying that he was breaking the federal law.
Trump also drew criticism on his decision not to travel to Arlington National Cemetery to celebrate Veterans Day, following his trip to Europe. He later said that he "should have" gone to the cemetery but was too busy with official business. His public schedule that day did not mention any events
In the Fox News Sunday interview, Trump was asked why he had not visited troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan during his two years as commander-in-chief.
"Well, I think it will happen," he said. "There are things that are planned."
He also praised his support for men and women in uniform.
"I do not think anyone has been more in the army than me, as president," Trump said. "In terms of funding, in terms of everything I've managed to get, including veterinarians, I do not think anyone has done more than me."
Trump received five postponements of postponement during the Vietnam War, four for education and one for the diagnosis of bone spurs – although he later told the New York Times that he no longer knew what foot had been affected by the disease or how long it had lasted.
In a recent interview, Trump told the Associated Press that he did not think that getting to troops in a war zone was "excessively necessary".
"I've been very busy with everything that's going on here," he added.
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Robert Burns, Associated Press national security editor, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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