The level of respect Trump gives to our vets is nothing to smile at. Between attempting to screw them over on charitable donations, and belittling our soldiers who has been prisoners of war, the Republican nominee is about as reverent to our troops as a cat is to a rat.

During a Q&A at the Retired American Warriors Pac, Trump told a room full of veterans “When people come back from war and combat and they see maybe what the people in this room have seen many times over, and you’re strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can’t handle it.”

According to a Buzzfeed reporter who was there, the room fell silent.

This isn’t just an awful take on those who suffer PTSD, it’s demonstrably wrong. Those who cope with PTSD are fighting a whole different battle that they didn’t sign up for. The terror and horror they experienced during their time on the line is etched so firmly in their minds that they’re sometimes still stuck on the battlefield. Learning how to cope with PTSD in their everyday life requires a strength that Trump could never understand.

He’ll never understand it because he pulled out the stops to avoid being drafted into the military. I find it rich that the man who created fallacious medical reports to avoid service – he was apparently too weak to serve then, but is suddenly the most fit guy to ever run now – is once again criticizing those who served and got more than their fair share of trouble as a result.

To Trump, strength is tirades against his opponents on Twitter, and talking about roughing people up as he stands safe behind a podium and secret service. That this coward thinks he can stand on a stage in front of heroes and take it upon himself to define what strength is would be laughable if it wasn’t disgusting.