Former Army Secretary Eric Fanning on Thursday blasted President Trump for his call to ban transgender people from serving in the military, saying Trump is turning his back on Americans who want to fight for the country.

“I was shocked that the commander-in-chief would turn his back on thousands of patriotic Americans who are serving,” said Fanning, who led the Army under President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaTwitter investigating automated image previews over apparent algorithmic bias Donald Trump delivers promise for less interventions in foreign policy Rush Limbaugh encourages Senate to skip hearings for Trump's SCOTUS nominee MORE and was the first openly gay secretary of a military service.

He said there's no reason not to treat gender-related medical care like other medical issues.

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“If someone is qualified to serve, raises his or her right hand, makes that commitment to possibly put their life on the line, one of the things they get as a part of that commitment is healthcare,” he said.

“We should treat this like any other medical issue."

Trump on Wednesday tweeted that transgender people should not be serving in the military, citing the "tremendous" costs associated with gender-related medical expenses. The announcement faced massive pushback from Democrats as well as a number of prominent Republicans