Rep. Max Rose, a former U.S. Army officer, knocked President Trump as a “draft dodger” Wednesday following an interview where the president said he “would not have minded [serving]” in the Vietnam war but didn’t enlist because he was “never a fan” of the conflict.
“The president was a draft dodger. There’s nothing he can do now to excuse for that or to make up for it, but I think there’s a larger issue and question at play here because what the president seemed to infer was that he did not want to serve because he did not agree with American” policy, the New York Democrat said.
“I enlisted in the military … but did not think the war in Iraq was a great idea, in fact, I think it’s the greatest foreign policy mistake in modern American political history, but that doesn’t take away from the service,” he said.
When asked whether he believed the president’s claim that bone spurs prevented him from serving in the military, Mr. Rose said he was not a doctor but believed the president lacked “courage.”
“I have no desire either to re-litigate some excuse he made or some doctor who his father paid off to excuse the fact that he didn’t have the courage to deploy to war. What matters as well is that the president understands and pays service and respect,” he said.
During his interview with Good Morning Britain, Mr. Trump added that despite not serving in the military, he said he’s “making up for it right now.”
“Look, $700 billion I gave last year, and this year $716 billion. And I think I’m making up for it rapidly because we’re rebuilding our military at a level that it’s never seen before,” he said.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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