Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke at a Rolling Thunder gathering before the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The Memorial Day weekend event has been a fixture for bikers celebrating veterans and USA prisoners-of-war.
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“We have to take care of our vets, and in many cases, illegal immigrants are taken better care of by this country than our vets”, Trump told the crowd who were honoring veterans, promising that if he’s elected, “that’s not going to happen”. I’m not going to allow that to happen any longer, ‘ Trump said.
As is his normal style, the Republican contender for the presidency did not try to back up his claim.
In a move to bolster support among veterans, Republican Donald Trump joined a leather-jacket-wearing, motorcycle-riding crowd in Washington on Sunday to honour fighters who served in foreign wars and advocate for those still missing in action.
“McCain was a prisoner of war, but I don’t know – I think he’s deserted the veterans, I really do”, said Sukeena, 72, who served in Vietnam during his six years in the Navy, and now lives in Manassas, Virginia.
Reporter: But many in the veteran community here say they give trump a pass.
“He’s a war hero because he was captured”, Trump said.
Rolling Thunder, the group that organizes the annual Memorial Day weekend motorcycle event, invited Trump to speak. I will say, no matter where I go, rolling thunder. “I don’t want to see anybody get hurt”, he said. Look at all these bikers. There were no signs of anti-Trump protesters or skirmishes that have marked some of his campaign appearances. He touted his recent endorsement from the National Rifle Association-“they endorsed Donald Trump sooner than they have ever endorsed any candidate ever before”, he said-and said Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton “wants to abolish the Second Amendment”. Trump said to positive affirmations from the crowd.
Ray Manzo, a former U.S. Marine Corps corporal, is one of the men credited for organizing the Rolling Thunder event. John McCain of Arizona, a POW in Vietnam, was not a hero. What they like most about trump is that he speaks his mind. “That’s a good thing”, said Ralph Giannola, 65, who said he had not decided whether to support Trump in November.
The bombastic billionaire has been on a quest to fix the damage done last summer when he attacked the military record of Arizona Senator John McCain, a former prisoner of war. “Everything else, I think, is an open issue”. We just raised nearly $6 million for the vets. Trump said during his speech Sunday that he planned to hold a news conference on Tuesday to name the charities to which he had given the proceeds from the fundraiser.
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“I like the fact that he’s going to make America great again and that he’s going to work for our veterans”, he said.
