President Trump has been roundly criticized on Twitter for a video he posted, suggesting fallen American soldiers would agree with his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. At least one Republican congressman has joined in that denunciation.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) told Fox News on Wednesday he found Trump’s remarks “disturbing.”
“I’ve got to be honest with you, the whole thing — I will talk about the problem with what the President is doing — but I wear on my wrist, a buddy of mine that I flew with in Iraq back in ’08 that was actually killed in 2018 in operation Inherent Resolve,” he said, showing a bracelet on his wrist. “For the President to point to the sky and say, ‘they want this,’ inferring those who have fallen — the President can’t speak for fallen American soldiers. I’m not sure the fallen American soldiers want us to declare victory against a foe we haven’t fully defeated yet.”
Kinzinger then joined the chorus of Republican lawmakers who have condemned Trump’s Syria decision, including some of his closest allies, like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Kinzinger called the move “disappointing.”
“I have no idea where this came from and I deeply fear the longterm ramifications of this,” he said.
Kinzinger: Trump "can't speak for fallen American soldiers" pic.twitter.com/iksJBoza9L
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) December 20, 2018
You made that Trump bed, dude. Lie in it or actually do something.
That should be ADAM Kinzinger, not Ryan.
Since January of 2017, Donnie has been digging his own hole and now the Repubs are starting to back away. In the end, like Nixon, he will be all alone. May. It. Be. So.
I think he actually just did something. He stepped up, told a damn good personal story that resonates and called out cadet bone spurs. This will grow. This guy stepped up.
All hands on deck people.
Trump is completely out of his depth. There are some rails in politics and real life you never touch out of common sense and plain decency. Some thing that are clearly and instinctively offensive to all people basically everywhere. And attempting to speak for fallen soldiers and steal their great sacrifice for any purpose, let alone a crass reason, is one of them.