ITEM FILE PHOTO
Seth Moulton.
BY THOMAS GRILLO
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton blasted Donald Trump on Tuesday, charging the presumptive Republican presidential nominee with dishonoring veterans.
“The sacred commitment of honoring our nation’s veterans and their families is being undermined by Donald Trump who constantly disrespects veterans and by Republicans in the House whose policy priorities could seriously undercut veterans’ programs,” said Moulton in a conference call.
Moulton, a Salem Democrat who served in the Iraq War, was joined on the call with three Democratic candidates for Congress in New York, including veterans DuWayne Gregory, Mike Derrick and John Plumb.
Moulton said Trump disparaged Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and all prisoners of war last summer when he told an interviewer “He’s not a war hero … He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK?”
“He never apologized for those remarks and just a couple of weeks ago, he doubled down on them,” Moulton said.
He also attacked Trump on his plan to privatize the Veterans Administration hospitals and the billionaire’s opposition to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, a measure that provides $12 billion in benefits, making the program a target for fiscal conservatives on Capitol Hill.
“I get my care from the VA,” Moulton said. “I will be the first to say that the VA needs drastic reforms. But privatization is not the answer. And it’s not just Donald Trump questioning the need for the Post 9/11 bill, House Republicans are eyeing it for cuts on the backs of our veterans and their families. These are promises we have made to the men and women on the front lines and they are promises we must keep.”
On the same day as Moulton’s offensive, Trump released a report that said he contributed $5.6 million to veterans charities.
State Rep. Geoff Diehl (R-Whitman), Trump’s Massachusetts co-chair, said Trump has raised millions of dollars for vets.
“It’s too bad Cong. Moulton is trying to mischaracterize the facts,” he said. “Since the beginning of the campaign, Mr. Trump has made it clear that he is a big supporter of our troops and veterans and the only candidate of the Republican 17 who boldly criticized the president’s handling of the VA hospitals. If I were Cong. Moulton, I would work on getting a clearer explanation as to why his candidate, Hillary Clinton, dropped the ball and four Americans died in Benghazi on her watch.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].
