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Donald Trump’s gaffe on veterans and PTSD shows just what an amateur he still is
WaPo ^ | 10/3/2016 | Aaron Blake

Posted on 10/03/2016 12:56:54 PM PDT by ObozoMustGo2012

There will be plenty of quibbling in the hours ahead, but Donald Trump clearly just created a new batch of problems for himself with his comments Monday morning, in which he suggested that veterans dealing with mental health problems aren't "strong" and "can't handle it."

"When people come back from war and combat, they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over, and you're strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can't handle it," Trump said to a veterans group in Northern Virginia. "And they see horror stories — they see events that you couldn’t see in a movie. Nobody would believe it. And we need mental health help, and medical. And it’s one of the things that I think is least-addressed, and it's one of the things that I hear the most about, when I go around and am talking to veterans."

Some suggested Trump was saying veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are weak. Others suggested that maybe he just got his words mixed up and shouldn't be raked over the coals.

But what Trump did here is thoroughly Trump. He was talking about an issue in very general terms and was trying to express sympathy. He used the kind of platitudes that you would expect from an amateur politician — but he also stumbled into the kind of language that anybody who is familiar with these issues would know to avoid.

Veterans' allies work hard to fight against the idea that problems like PTSD arise because people aren't strong enough — especially given the culture of strength that exists within the military and lingering resistance to the very idea of PTSD.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: 2016issues; ptsd; trump2016; veterans; virginia
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

He was very sincere and humble and greatly received by the military!!!
I heard it


21 posted on 10/03/2016 1:17:56 PM PDT by Guenevere (If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do....)
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To: Flick Lives

What does DNC operative Aaron Blake know about the military, or war, or combat?


22 posted on 10/03/2016 1:19:25 PM PDT by NorthMountain (Hillary Clinton: corrupt unreliable negligent traitor)
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To: ObozoMustGo2012
journoblogger Aaron Blake, who blogs for Bezos' Blog, weighs in.

Go give Aaron the bedwetter a piece of your mind on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/aaronblake

23 posted on 10/03/2016 1:20:29 PM PDT by kiryandil (George H. W. Bush: "Read my lips. I'm a Republican.")
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To: ObozoMustGo2012
"Some suggested Trump was saying veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are weak. Others suggested that maybe he just got his words mixed up and shouldn't be raked over the coals."

I wonder if these moron journalists flunked their Literature 101 classes? Can't these yahoos correctly get the meaning of a clear statement?

When Trump said,"a lot of people can't handle it," he meant that some veterans do not have the psychological strength to handle PTSD and need help. He did not say all veterans with PTSD are weak and cannot handle it.

24 posted on 10/03/2016 1:21:51 PM PDT by jonrick46 (The Left has a mental disorder: A totalitarian mindset..)
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

Not what he said at all.


25 posted on 10/03/2016 1:24:43 PM PDT by Parley Baer
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

Has Aaron Blake ever served in the U.S. military?


26 posted on 10/03/2016 1:29:24 PM PDT by Parmy (II don't know how to past the images.)
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Well, they aren’t strong and they can’t handle it. Why? Because they have PTSD, they need help and Trump knows this. He also knows the VA is broken. He promises to fix it. He also wonders why illegal immigrant and others are getting help and abusing the system while the Vets are lingering without that level of support. He knows that.


27 posted on 10/03/2016 1:44:40 PM PDT by Clutch Martin
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

He sounds entirely accurate to me.


28 posted on 10/03/2016 1:45:01 PM PDT by jch10 (Stand strong! we have a country to save!)
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

He’s so horrible!

Let’s let the people with EXPERIENCE keep doing what they’ve been doing for the last few decades... Look what a great job they’ve done!


29 posted on 10/03/2016 1:47:39 PM PDT by Mr. K (<a href="https://imgflip.com/i/1adpjl"><img src="https://i.imgflip.com/1adpjl.jpg" title="made at im)
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

“Some suggested Trump was saying veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are weak.”

Obama changed the rules as to who qualifies for PTSD and thus government $$$$$.

This is why the system has been flooded and the people who really need the care don’t get it.

It used to be that you had to have combat exposure to qualify.

Now half of the cases are sexual harassment PTSD, or I saw a dead body PTSD, or believe it or not, I saw the casket with dead bodies in it and I got PTSD.

The veterans are having a difficult time finding good jobs in the floundering economy are turning to the government for support. If a vet gets full disability it is $36,000 per year tax free.

I am not denying that their are legitimate PTSD cases as I have worked with them. Shame is that while they are in the military the treatment sucks. Until recently it involved giving the soldier a 180 day supply of benzos to pop and get addicted to. Thankfully they have now cut back on them as they are highly addictive.

However, just because someone is a veteran does not mean that they have PTSD. Again, the problem is the same for PTSD as it is for food stamps. It’s become an Obama give away!!!!


30 posted on 10/03/2016 1:48:36 PM PDT by tired&retired (Blessings)
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To: ObozoMustGo2012
Wow, they're really full throttle on the hate, aren't they? Think they can keep this up for another month?

Sorry, WaPo - the vets aren't listening to you. Why the hell should we?

31 posted on 10/03/2016 1:50:52 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

The desperation of the MSM is remarkable!


32 posted on 10/03/2016 1:53:25 PM PDT by Redleg Duke (Okay, the Primaries are over and it is us against the DC Uni-Party!)
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To: Billthedrill

The washington compost proves again that they are insulting the First Amendment. Their “writers” are completely compromised LIB moonbats without a shred of integrity.


33 posted on 10/03/2016 1:53:48 PM PDT by hal ogen (First Amendment or Reeducation Camp?.)
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To: ifinnegan

i’m a worrier and this isn’t even good worry fodder.

they’ve become laughable, the press.

dangerous still, but laughable.


34 posted on 10/03/2016 1:54:10 PM PDT by dp0622 (IThe only thing an upper crust conservative hates more than a liberal is a middle class conservative)
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To: Parmy

[Has Aaron Blake ever served in the U.S. military?]

He might have played with GI Joes when younger, so he might think that qualifies him to comment on these matters.


35 posted on 10/03/2016 1:56:28 PM PDT by ObozoMustGo2012
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

I heard that speech...this was a heartfelt and sensitive answer. This one like most is pure BS.


36 posted on 10/03/2016 2:11:57 PM PDT by ThePatriotsFlag ( Anything FREELY-GIVEN by the government was TAKEN from someone else.)
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

They’re just trying to stir up anti-Trump sentiment in order to deflect any possible Wikileak bombshell(s).


37 posted on 10/03/2016 2:12:47 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (You can't spell TRIUMPH without TRUMP)
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To: ObozoMustGo2012

this is all EXACTLY out of the anti Ronald Reagan playbook.

He is just an actor/reality star
He scares me with “the button”
He never did anything
He has no real experience
He hates women/minorities/insert interest group here
He is not a serious candidate

the democrat is ahead in the polls.

he did not graduate from Harvard or yale.

he has offered no substantive plans.

on and on and on.


38 posted on 10/03/2016 2:26:42 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: Redleg Duke

the Minion Media.


39 posted on 10/03/2016 2:27:14 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: jonrick46

As a parent of a disabled veterans who does have PTSD, I pray daily that he will be able to “handle” the stress. With a government that has turned its back on veterans, 22 a day find themselves unable to handle it and end their lives. Trump understands. Where is there a gaffe in pointing out the truth that these heroes need help NOW.


40 posted on 10/03/2016 2:38:57 PM PDT by nclaurel
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