Does Ohio Sen. JD Vance know the meaning of “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones?”
Donald Trump’s running mate says Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’s pick for her vice president, quit the Army National Guard to keep from being sent to Iraq. A marine veteran who served in Iraq, Vance called it “stolen valor garbage.”
Actually, Vance’s claim is garbage. “There is no evidence that Walz retired to avoid a wartime deployment,” wrote Politico’s Jared Mitovich, Meridith McGraw, and Connor O’Brien.
“The attacks are reminiscent of the 2004 campaign to discredit the distinguished war record of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, who served in Vietnam and later criticized the war — an effort led by Chris LaCivita, now a senior adviser to the Trump campaign,” the reporters added.
Cadet Bone Spurs
Here’s where the glass house expression comes in: By sliming Walz, Vance is drawing attention to Trump actively avoiding the draft and the Vietnam War via college deferments, which were legit, and a suspicious medical waiver for bone spurs, which still smacks of string-pulling.
It wouldn’t surprise me if reporters started digging to try to find the truth about Trump and his mysterious bone spurs. If they do, he can thank his sidekick.
Multiple stories about “Cadet Bone Spurs” survive on the Internet. (Click here and here.) This one is from Military Times and written by Leo Shane III in 2019:
“WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump acknowledged to advisors that he made up a fake injury to avoid military service, because ‘I wasn’t going to Vietnam,’ his former lawyer told lawmakers during testimony on Wednesday.
“Michael Cohen, who also worked as a fixer for Trump before his election, said he was tasked with tamping down criticism of the military deferment as the presidential candidate simultaneously mocked Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, for being regarded as a military hero. “I like people who weren’t captured,” Trump said during a July 2015 interview.
“‘Mr. Trump claimed (his medical deferment) was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery,” Cohen told members of the House Oversight Committee. “He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment.
“He finished the conversation with the following comment: ‘You think I’m stupid? I wasn’t going to Vietnam.’”
This presidential campaign news release popped up last February:
It’s not the Hardy Boys but it’s still a mystery: How did Donald Trump get a medical deferment from the military after previously being declared fit to serve? And why would the miraculously-sprouting bone spurs keep him from military service but not his busy athletic schedule while in college? The plot thickened when Trump said he escaped the draft due to a high lottery number even though he had been medically exempted for more than a year.
Reportedly, the diagnosis of bone spurs came from a Queens, New York podiatrist who had a relationship with Trump’s father, Fred.
The release concludes with a campaign spokesperson writing: ”Donald Trump’s excuse doesn’t add up, but it does explain his disrespect for our service members and veterans. ... A man who went to elaborate lengths to avoid the uniform at all costs can’t understand the selfless sacrifice American heroes make.”
That came from the Biden-Harris campaign, right? Wrong. Team Nikki Haley.
Vance goes after a decorated general
Vance, too, ridiculed a veteran whose opinion he didn’t like. This just in from AlterNet’s Maya Boddie:
“During his candidacy for US Senate in 2022, the [Trump-endorsed] Ohio lawmaker appeared on the right-wing Real America’s Voice Network, where he discussed his stance on Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression. He said: “I think it’s ridiculous that we are focused on this border in Ukraine. I got to be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.’
“At the time, former NBC News commentator and retired US Army General Barry McCaffrey replied to a clip of Vance’s interview via X (formerly Twitter), writing: ”JD Vance is a shameful person unsuitable for public office. His comments are those of a stooge for Russian aggression.”
“Vance shot back at McCaffrey, saying: ‘Your entire time in military leadership we won zero wars. You drank fine wine at bulls—t security conferences while thousands of working class kids died on the battlefield. Oh, by the way, how much do you stand to gain financially from a war with Russia, Barry?’“
McCaffery was an outstanding combat infantry officer. In Vietnam he earned a pair of Distinguished Service Crosses-decorations for valor second only to the Medal of Honor. He was awarded two Silver Stars — the third highest medal for bravery in battle. He also received three Purple Hearts for combat wounds.
From the National Museum of the United States Army: “In Operation Desert Storm, McCaffrey commanded the 24th Infantry Division which protected the flank of the ‘left hook’ around the Iraqi defenses.”
From the U.S. Army Center of Military History: “In 100 hours, U.S. and allied ground forces in Iraq and Kuwait decisively defeated a battle-hardened and dangerous enemy. During air and ground operations, U.S. and allied forces destroyed over 3,000 tanks, 1,400 armored personnel carriers, and 2,200 artillery pieces along with countless other vehicles. This was achieved at a cost to the United States of 96 soldiers killed in action, 2 died of wounds, and 105 non-hostile deaths.”
Gen. McCaffrey’s son, Col. Sean McCaffrey, retired from the Army after three combat tours.
Vance’s venom reminds me of another old admonition: “Never let your mouth overload your a--.” I thought of it when I read that Boddie quoted conservative lawyer George Conway on Vance’s rant at the general: “I hadn’t seen this before, but I think this settles it. Vance is an a—hole.”
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