MaddowBlog-The problem(s) with Trump declaring himself a 'war hero'

[LetMyPeopleVote]

If Trump is looking for actual war heroes, I might refer him to some of the people whose service he denigrated both before and after taking office.

The problem(s) with Trump declaring himself a ‘war hero’
If Trump is looking for actual war heroes, I might refer him to some of the people whose service he denigrated both before and after taking office.https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/problems-trump-declaring-war-hero-rcna226096

— Philly Joe (@joehick58.bsky.social) 2025-08-20T21:13:37.821Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/problems-trump-declaring-war-hero-rcna226096

It’s against this backdrop that Trump came up with a new label for himself. Politico reported:

U.S. President Donald Trump called himself a ‘war hero’ on Tuesday for approving airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Calling into conservative host Mark Levin’s radio show, Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ‘a war hero ‘cause we worked together.’

“He’s a war hero. I guess I am, too,” Trump said. “Nobody cares. But I am, too. I mean, I sent those planes.”

Trump calls himself a war hero for his actions against Iran:

"He's a war hero. I guess I am too. Nobody cares, but I am too. I mean, I sent those planes."

— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) 2025-08-20T15:12:41.216Z

.....Let’s unpack this one because I think the larger issue is important.

First, while it’s true that Trump ordered a military strike, under any sensible definition of the phrase, a “war hero” refers to someone who acted heroically during a war. Giving the Pentagon a green light for a mission is important, but it does not a hero make.

Second, if Trump is looking for actual war heroes, I might refer him to some of the people whose service he denigrated both before and after taking office. (Although he repeatedly denied ever calling fallen American soldiers “losers” and “suckers,” his own onetime White House chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, said he heard the president make the comments.)

Finally, if Trump wanted to be a war hero, he had an opportunity to serve during the war in Vietnam, but he instead sought and received five deferments — claiming he had “bone spurs.”

He nevertheless boasted to voters that he “felt” like he’d served in the military because his parents sent him to a military-themed boarding school as a teenager. He later claimed, in apparent seriousness, that his expensive prep school gave him “more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military.”

[KatyaR]

1. Let's compare him to Audie Murphy

and see how well he measures up....

[MarineCombatEngineer]

2. Or any other service member or combat Veteran.

Been A Dick Donald would come up very short to anyone who ever served in the US Military, whether or not they had seen combat.
Been A Dick Donald is the biggest Chicken Hawk to ever walk this earth, at least JD Vance, despite him being a total toady to Been A Dick Donald, had the balls to enlist in the US Marines and serve in a combat zone.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. No one in trump's family has ever served

[B.See]

3. Remember: In Trumpic MAGA mentalities,

the word "HERO" means the exact opposite, and Visa versa.

To them, "heroes" would be Putin, Kim, "Homelander" (The Boyz) and very fine people, like Adolf... among other dictators and DESPOTS.

To Trump/MAGA, heroes wouldn't be those who sacrificed themselves in the service of our country (Trump's so-called 'suckers and losers')

or, for that matter, "too woke" people like Christ.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Trump, who famously dodged the draft by claiming he had *bone spurs*, calls himself a "war hero"

Link to tweet