Ralph Northam criticizes Trump’s veterans record, rhetoric

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a former Army doctor who cared for soldiers during the Persian Gulf War, praised Hillary Clinton’s plan to support veterans and military families while criticizing presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump over his hypocrisy on veterans issues.

Trump has come under fire in recent weeks for his failed promises to veterans, as his top policy adviser also indicated Trump would push to privatize the VA.

“Our veterans deserve a president who will honor their service and ensure they have access to quality health care, education, and other benefits they earned,” Northam said. “This week, Donald Trump is claiming that he’ll fight for veterans, but his record shows us that he’s only out to help one person: Donald Trump. It is a universal truth beyond political debate that the people who serve our country are patriots, and for someone running for president to have disparaged their service and insulted their sacrifice is disgraceful.”

Trump promised months ago to donate money to veterans groups but lied about how much he raised, and then tried to avoid donating money until he was caught. But this was not the first time Trump disrespected veterans. Trump once begged the mayor of New York to boot disabled veterans who were street vendors off Fifth Avenue — the home of Trump Tower. Trump has also stood by his attacks on Sen. John McCain for being a Prisoner of War in Vietnam – after Trump said that he likes ‘people who weren’t captured.’

Northam starkly contrasted Trump’s hypocrisy and offensive rhetoric with Hillary Clinton’s commitment to veterans and military families, saying, “As a veteran, I know that Hillary Clinton will be a president who will make sure veterans and military families are strong — boosting their access to opportunities to succeed upon returning home. Hillary has real policy solutions to modernize and refocus the full spectrum of veterans’ benefits across the federal government and to overhaul VA governance to create a new veteran-centric model of excellence. That’s the kind of leadership our veterans deserve.”