Fred Trump III blasted his uncle, former President Donald Trump, for his attitude towards soldiers saying he “doesn’t give a shit about them.”
In an interview on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House on Monday, Trump recalled meeting John McCain (R-Ariz.) and criticized his uncle for his constant attacks on the late senator, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
“I had the honor of meeting Senator McCain,” he said in a clip shared by Mediaite. “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. 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.”
Trump revealed in his book last month that his uncle said in private that Americans with disabilities should “just die” due to “expenses” and “the shape they’re in.” The former president made the comment in reference to Fred Trump’s son who was born with a rare genetic disorder.
Trump’s disdain for disabled Americans also extends to veterans. In an interview with the Atlantic, Mark Milley, the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said Trump had been irritated after Luis Avila, a wounded vet in a wheelchair, sang at Milley’s 2019 welcome ceremony.
Trump also wanted wounded veterans excluded from a military parade he was planning in 2018 because “Nobody wants to see that.”
Asked why he thinks people in the military support the former president, Trump’s nephew said, “I have no idea.”
“And I know many people who are in the military, and I had the pleasure of speaking on an interview with National Defense Radio, which goes out to the Armed Services, and I told the truth,” he continued. “I basically told this story, and I said that he just doesn’t give a shit about them. He just doesn’t.”
“It’s the great Godfather II, one of the last scenes when Sonny says, ‘Country ain’t your blood, kid.’ And Michael Corleone says, ‘No, I don’t believe that.’ Donald believes in Donald,” he added.
