Yesterday, social media lost it’s mind again when Marine Staff Sgt. Chad Robichaux, president and founder of Mighty Oaks Warrior Programs, at a town hall style meeting with some veterans asked Donald Trump if he’d support using religion-based programs for helping veterans with PTS and TBI problems. Here is Trump’s complete response;<\/p>\n
When you talk about the mental health problems when people come back from war and combat and they see things that maybe a lot of folks in this room have seen many times over, and you\u2019re strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can\u2019t handle it, and they see horror stories, they see events that you couldn\u2019t see in a movie, nobody would believe it. Now we need a mental health help and medical and it\u2019s one of the things that I think is least addressed and it\u2019s one of the things I hear \u2014 like your question \u2014 one of the things I hear most about when I go around and talk to the veterans.<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re going to have a very, very robust, very very robust level of performance having to do with mental health. We are losing so many great people that can be taken care of if they have proper care.<\/p>\n
You know when you hear the 22 suicides a day, it\u2019s a big part of your question, but when you hear the 22 suicides a day, that should never be. That should never be, So we\u2019re going to be addressing that very strongly.<\/p>\n
And the whole mental health issue is going to be a very important issue when I take over, and the VA is going to be fixed in so many ways, but that\u2019s gonna be one of the ways we\u2019re gonna help. And that\u2019s in many respects going to be the number one thing we have to do because I think it\u2019s really been left behind. Ok? Thank you very much.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Of course, most media outlets edited that response to appear as if Trump didn’t understand the problem and that he was calling veterans who suffer from PTS as “weak”. CNN<\/a> even told it’s readers what to think about Trump in their opening paragraph of the report before presenting his response to the question;<\/p>\n
Donald Trump suggested Monday that American soldiers and veterans who commit suicide do so because they can’t handle the post-traumatic stress of war.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
CNN went on to ask the opinion of highly partisan Democrat operatives like Jon Soltz, of MoveOn.org’s VoteVets;<\/p>\n
Jon Soltz, an Iraq War veteran and Chairman of the progressive VoteVets.org, called Trump’s comments “horrible” but “not shocking.”
\n“We’re talking about a person, in Trump, who believes that POWs aren’t real heroes, and that he’s made sacrifices akin to Gold Star Families who lost their loved ones in war,” Soltz said in a statement. “The constant disrespect Donald Trump shows towards our veterans and servicemembers is sickening, and completely and totally disqualifying.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\nPaul Rieckhoff, of course, chimed in;<\/p>\n
The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America sent BuzzFeed New<\/a>s a statement about the importance of language when talking about PTSD.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery national leader has a responsibility to use accurate and appropriate language when talking about mental health and suicide especially,\u201d IAVA CEO Paul Rieckhoff wrote wrote. \u201cTerms like \u2018killing yourself\u2019 or \u2018mental problems\u2019 or any suggestion that suicide only impacts the weak, can promote contagion and may discourage people from getting help.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that \u201cgetting help for a mental health injury is not a sign of weakness, it\u2019s a demonstration of strength.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Marine Staff Sgt. Chad Robichaux, the man who asked Trump the question, though, called the criticism of Trump “sickening” according to the Washington Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n
I think it\u2019s sickening that anyone would twist Mr. Trump\u2019s comments to me in order to pursue a political agenda. I took his comments to be thoughtful and understanding of the struggles many veterans have, and I believe he is committed to helping them. The nature of my question focused on a broken system that\u2019s failing so many of our veterans and, as president, would Mr. Trump take a more holistic approach to health care for veterans.<\/p>\n
I interpreted his answer to affirm that the system is broken and he would take the necessary steps to address it. After eight combat tours in Afghanistan I came home and was diagnosed with PTSD, and I struggled with it. Since my own recovery I\u2019ve been privileged to help 1100 veterans who have graduated from our program; none of whom have committed suicide since graduating. It\u2019s a very important issue to me, which is why I was thankful for the opportunity to ask Mr. Trump about it directly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If the media is trying to make me vote for Trump out of spite, they’re doing a marvelous job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"