Trump criticised over surprise Iraq trip
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has come under fire for signing campaign memorabilia during a visit to meet US troops stationed in Iraq.
Critics have also slammed him for attacking his political rivals in an address to the soldiers in Iraq that raised concerns that he is politicising the US military.
The US president had signed distinctive red campaign hats emblazoned with the bold slogan - “Make America Great Again” (in capital letters) - and a Trump 2020 patch.
Trump had also criticised Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi over the Us-mexico border wall funding.
“He (Trump) has to understand that there exist some audiences that should not be addressed as part of his base, because they are not,” Mark Hertling told The New York Times. “It’s a violation of protocol by the president.”
The US president pushed back in a tweet on Thursday, saying, “CNN & others within the Fake News Universe were going wild about my signing MAGA hats for our military in Iraq and Germany. If these brave young people ask me to sign their hats, I will sign. Can you imagine my saying NO? We brought or gave NO hats as the Fake News first reported!”
Trump apparently criticised the chain of command of the US military when he said he had given the American generals plenty of time to end the deployment in Syria and that they failed to deliver, because of which he overruled them and ordered the withdrawal of the 2,000 troops stationed there.
Also, Trump has come under fire for misleading the troops when he claimed in an address that he gave them a raise for the first time in 10 years.
Experts, however, insist that the US military has been getting a raise every year in recent times.
“It’s great. You know what? Nobody deserves it more. You haven’t gotten one in more than 10 years - more than 10 years. And we got you a big one. I got you a big one. I got you a big one,” Trump had told the soldiers in Iraq.
Trump was also under fire for sharing the video feed of his Iraq visit that may have revealed the deployment of US navy SEALS in the region.