Trump thanks U.S. troops, says ‘we’re really winning’
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump thanked U.S. troops for their service on Thursday, assuring them “we’re really winning” against America’s foes as he celebrated Thanksgiving at his private club in Florida and provided lunch for Coast Guard men and women on duty for the holiday.
Using the occasion to pat himself on the back, Trump told deployed military members via a video conference that they’ve achieved more progress in Afghanistan and against the Islamic State group under his watch than had been made in years of the previous administration.
“Everybody’s talking about the progress you’ve made in the last few months since I opened it up,” he told the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, whose members are conducting operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Speaking from a gilded room at his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump said: “We’re not fighting anymore to just walk around, we’re fighting to win, and you people are really, you’ve turned it around over the last three to four months like nobody’s seen, and they are talking about it, so thank you very much.”
Turning to the 74th Expeditionary Fighters Squadron based at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, Trump suggested the Obama administration hadn’t allowed soldiers on the ground to do their jobs.
“They say we’ve made more progress against ISIS than they did in years of the previous administration,” he said. “And that’s because I’m letting you do your job.”
Trump kicked off Thanksgiving Day by replying to a tweet that said his latest Twitter feud is part of a racist pattern of attacking prominent African-Americans.
Trump’s response, tweeted at about 6:30 a.m.: “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The tweet that prompted the response from the president came from Greg Sargent, who writes about politics for The Washington Post. Sargent had shared his opinion article about Trump’s latest tweetstorm related to LaVar Ball, whom the president has repeatedly called out for not thanking him properly for his role in resolving a shoplifting charge in China against Ball’s son.
In his piece published Wednesday, Sargent argued that Trump “goes out of his way to attack prominent African-Americans,” including Ball and professional football athletes.
“Trump’s rage-tweets about LaVar Ball are part of a pattern. Trump regularly attacks high-profile African-Americans to feed his supporters’ belief that the system is rigged for minorities,” Sargent wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
To which the president responded the following day with his campaign slogan.
It’s unclear if Trump’s tweet was meant to agree with or acknowledge Sargent’s points that his behavior on social media fits a racist pattern against African-Americans. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Throughout the day — at events and on Twitter — Trump boasted about the economy’s performance since he took office, pointing to recent stock market gains and the unemployment rate, along with his efforts to scale back regulations and boost military spending.
“So you’re fighting for something real, you’re fighting for something good,” he told the service members
Trump and first lady Melania also made a trip to a nearby Coast Guard station in Riviera Beach, Fla., where they delivered a lunch of turkey sandwiches, giant muffins, heaping baskets of fruit, chips and cookies to men and women on duty for the holidays.
During his remarks, Trump, singled out the service for its hurricane relief efforts during Harvey and the other storms that battered the country earlier this year.