
Instead of thanking Marines for their service, Donald Trump forced them to listen to an extended rant about his favorite subject: the greatness of Donald Trump.

It is always about Donald Trump. Even when it is supposed to be about the Marines serving their country, Trump still makes it about himself.

That narcissistic approach to the entire world flared up again Friday when Trump met with a group of Marines and subjected them to a 12-minute rant about himself.

Trump was visiting Marine Helicopter Squadron One, in Quantico, Virginia. That's the group in charge of helicopter transportation for the president onboard Marine One.


Most presidents would take the opportunity to limit their remarks to praising the service and dedication of this team, who are responsible for securing one of the most important figures in the American government.

Instead, Trump dedicated a considerable chunk of his remarks to comments about himself.

Describing the service members as "the ones taking care of my helicopter," Trump boasted, "I've had many helicopters. You know, I'm very spoiled; I've had helicopters."

Minutes later, Trump forced the captive audience — they couldn't just walk out on the man who is unfortunately their commander in chief — to hear him once again recount the 2016 election.

He bragged about his "very successful campaign" that he "won very easily." He then recounted how "we had 306 Electoral College votes to 223, or something like that."

Trump actually won 304; Hillary Clinton won 227.

Trump did not bother telling the Marines about how he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million to Clinton, or that his approval rating as president has never been near 50 percent and is currently in the low 30s.

He did go on to describe incorrect predictions of his electoral college numbers as "voter suppression." Real voter suppression tactics were used by Republicans in the race, trying to aid Trump by lowering the number of Democratic-leaning voters who could cast their ballots.

TRUMP: Remember they used to say, "There is no way for Trump to get to 270." Remember? Over and over again. That's called voter suppression. If you believe that, you might say, "I love Trump but I'm not going to waste my time — let's go see a movie and we'll come home and watch the results tonight." Right? But everybody said, "No, I'm not going to a movie; we're going to vote." And they voted. And we didn’t get to 270; we got 306 [sic]. That's even better, right?

Out of 56 presidential election, Trump's performance in the 2016 electoral college ranks 46th.

Doing this to the troops is the latest in a series of disrespectful moves against the military. Trump uses them a backdrop and surrounds himself with generals in an attempt to play-act as a leader.

But he refuses to take responsibility for ordering them into battles where they have lost their lives, and pursues policies that would hurt them in their twilight years as veterans.

The military isn't Donald Trump's plaything or sounding board for his failing presidency, and he should be ashamed for treating them that way.