Donald Trump has spent the past 24 hours attacking decorated war veteran Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was physically removed from the White House on Friday as part of the president’s post-impeachment purge.
But the Purple Heart recipient fought back on Saturday in a statement from his lawyer, basically calling Trump a petty liar who is trying to intimidate anybody who stands up to him.
For Vindman, it appears Trump’s bullying isn’t working, and he’s punching back.
“The President this morning made a series of obviously false statements concerning Lieutenant Colonel Vindman,” the statement read. “While the most powerful man in the world continues his campaign of intimidation … Lieutenant Colonel Vindman continues his service to our country as a decorated, active duty member of our military.”
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The full statement:
The President this morning made a series of obviously false statements concerning Lieutenant Colonel Vindman; they conflict with the clear personnel record and the entirety of the impeachment record of which the President is well aware. While the most powerful man in the world continues his campaign of intimidation, while too many entrusted with political office continue to remain silence, Lieutenant Colonel Vindman continues his service to our country as a decorated, active duty member of our military.
Trump is picking another fight with the military
Donald Trump and his supporters like to push the absurd idea that this president is a tough commander-in-chief with strong ties to the military, but time and again he has attacked decorated veterans.
It started early in Trump’s political career when he claimed late Sen. John McCain wasn’t a war hero because he was captured. It continued throughout the 2016 campaign when he waged an all-out assault on the Gold Star Khan family.
Now, Trump didn’t just drag a Purple Heart recipient out of the White House for speaking the truth about his Ukraine crimes, but he took to Twitter to smear him with lies and question his military service altogether.
At the end of the day, Trump seems to enjoy picking fights with men and women he knows are respected and revered in a way he’ll never be.
That’s clear in his latest back-and-forth with Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a man who has done something this president never has: honorably serve his country.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
