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Donald Trump absolutely loves talking about how much he loves the troops. But, according to a report out Tuesday from the Washington Post, he’s too cowardly to actually go visit the people he continues to put in harm’s way.




Trump—who has yet to visit combat troops during his presidency—is instead spending Thanksgiving, a holiday other presidents have used to make such visits, at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, surrounded by his rich friends/informal advisers.

One reason Trump reportedly hasn’t pushed for a visit? It’s pretty scary being in a place where people are trying to kill you all the time, i.e. war! Per the Post:

Trump has spoken privately about his fears over risks to his own life, according to a former senior White House official, who has discussed the issue with the president and spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about Trump’s concerns. “He’s never been interested in going,” the official said of Trump visiting troops in a combat zone, citing conversations with the president. “He’s afraid of those situations. He’s afraid people want to kill him.”


No shit! That’s why war is hell. I have reached out to the White House for comment and will update if I hear back.

Trump, a man who seems to hate the appearance of losing above all else, also reportedly doesn’t relish the thought of being associated with the longest-running wars in American history (emphasis added):

Although he signed off on Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s requests to bolster the American military presence in Afghanistan and Syria and retain the footprint in Iraq, Trump isn’t a fan of U.S. military operations there. In meetings about a potential visit, he has described the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan as “a total shame,” according to the advisers. He also cited the long flights and potential security risks as reasons he has avoided combat-zone visits, they said.

Long flights are a real drag! So is being deployed during Thanksgiving and, you know, the prospect of dying in a conflict long ago revealed to be a total sham engineered by people who’ve already been welcomed back into polite society, few questions asked.

Update, 4:10 p.m. ET: Speaking with reporters Tuesday afternoon, the president vaguely vowed to go to “a war zone,” but declined to say which one or when. Promising!