Stays on point in salute to vets
A day after his rancorous performance at a rally in Phoenix, President Trump praised military veterans and called for national unity at the American Legion’s annual convention in Reno, Nev.
And unlike his rambling remarks from the night before, the president stuck to the script, reading prepared remarks from a teleprompter with only the odd ad lib.
“Today, we are here to honor you for the sacrifices you have made to defend our nation and preserve our way of life,” the president said. “But we are also here for another reason. We are here to hold you up as an example of the strength, courage and resolve that our country will need to overcome the many challenges that we face.”
“We are here to draw inspiration from you as we seek to renew the bonds of loyalty that bind us together as one people and one nation.”
Trump, whose comments that there were “very fine people” on both sides of the white-nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this month sparked national outrage, hailed the military’s diversity.
“Those who wear the nation’s uniform come from all different backgrounds and from every single walk of life. But they are all united by shared values and a shared sense of duty,” he said.
“They are all part of one team with only one mission in mind. Most importantly, they’re all Americans and they work together. They fight together, and they sacrifice together to defend our magnificent nation.”
Trump credited himself with improving the Veterans Affairs Department and increasing military spending.
And he offered up a laundry list of talking points, including praise for law enforcement, a pledge to create jobs and to revitalize American cities.
He also called for healing, in an about-face from his combative 75minute speech in Phoenix.
“It is time to heal the wounds that have divided us, and to seek a new unity based on the common values that unite us. We are one people with one home and one great flag. We are not defined by the color of our skin, the figure on our paycheck, or the party of our politics. We are defined by our shared humanity, by our citizenship in this magnificent nation, and by the love that fills our hearts,” Trump said.
“We are people who love. We are people with heart . . . We are people that are great,” he added in one apparent ad lib.
After his remarks, Trump signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act.
The legislation, according to the White House, will streamline the lengthy process that veterans undergo when appealing their claims for disability benefits with the Veterans Administration.