Trump stokes new unlikely feud
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday stoked his latest unlikely feud —a fight with the decorated admiral who oversaw the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, The Hill reports.
Trump lashed out at retired Adm. William McRaven in an interview with Fox News on Sunday over McRaven’s criticism that the president’s rhetoric toward the press is the “greatest threat to democracy” in his lifetime.
Trump, asked about McRaven’s comments, suggested the U.S. could have captured bin Laden sooner and chastised the admiral’s perceived political leanings.
The president’s remarks were widely criticized by people on both sides of the aisle, but that didn’t keep Trump from doubling down Monday on Twitter.
“Of course we should have captured Osama Bin Laden long before we did. I pointed him out in my book just BEFORE the attack on the World Trade Center. President Clinton famously missed his shot,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Support for McRaven filtered in from both political parties and members of the military community on Monday. Several individuals refuted the president's claim that the U.S. was slow to take down bin Laden.
McRaven is just the latest individual with a decorated military career to absorb the president's wrath for speaking critically.
During the 2016 campaign, Trump exchanged barbs with Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father of a slain soldier, over his criticism of Trump at the Democratic National Convention.
Trump mocked the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for being a prisoner of war, and attracted criticism in August for being slow to formally acknowledge McCain's death by lowering flags to half-staff.
Just last week, Trump was criticized for not attending any ceremonies for Veterans Day. In the Fox interview, the president said he regretted not doing so.
The president's attacks on individual service members or their family members are at odds with the pro-military persona he has attempted to cultivate by touting reforms to the Department of Veterans Affairs, securing additional funding for the armed forces and stocking his Cabinet with former military officers.