quote:

Despite claiming to be a champion of military veterans, President Trump repeatedly pushed to get disabled vets barred from working as street vendors on Fifth Ave., accusing the American heroes of “clogging and seriously downgrading” the luxe shopping destination in midtown Manhattan.

Trump, who is coming to New York on Monday to kick off the 100th annual Veterans Day Parade, once insisted that wounded vets be denied the special permission they can get to set up shop on the prime stretch of high-priced retail outlets — which is also home to Trump Tower.

“Do we allow Fifth Ave., one of the world’s finest and most luxurious shopping districts, to be turned into an outdoor flea market?" Trump asked in a 1991 letter to a then-powerful Albany lawmaker.

The effort succeeded in limiting permits to trade on the streets in “core areas” of midtown Manhattan. But Trump re-upped his objection to the Civil War-era law that helps disabled vets operate street carts in a 2004 letter to then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“Whether they are veterans or not, they [the vendors] should not be allowed to sell on this most important and prestigious shopping street,” Trump wrote in the “Dear Michael” missive.

quote:

President Donald Trump said Monday that top Defense Department leaders want to keep waging wars in order to keep defense contractors “happy.”

Trump continues to fight allegations that he made offensive comments about fallen U.S. service-members, including calling World War I dead at an American military cemetery in France “losers” and “suckers” in 2018. The Atlantic first reported on the anonymously sourced allegations.

At a White House news conference Monday, Trump repeated his claim that the story was a “hoax” and said: “I’m not saying the military’s in love with me. The soldiers are.”

However, he added, “The top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t because they want to do nothing but fight wars so all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.”

quote:

A commander in chief, she said, "requires a consistent temperament for the good of the military as well as civilian leaders underneath the president."

Moreover, Schultz said Trump has tried to use the military as a political prop — or political enemy.

"At various points, [Trump] has referred to 'my military' or 'my generals' and with great affection," she said, "and apparently at other times with deep contempt."

It seems the president, the University of North Carolina's Kohn said, is trying to drive a wedge between officers and rank-and-file troops for political gain.

"Trump has from the beginning pandered to the enlisted force," Kohn said, "implicitly setting them against the officers just as he attacks other elites and poses as a champion of the mass of the American public."

All that likely adds to Trump's perception that there's a divide between the top brass and the rank-and-file soldiers. Trump did enjoy wide support among the enlisted ranks, more so than officers.

At the start of the Trump presidency, a poll by Military Times found that 46% of troops had favorable view of him, and 37% had an unfavorable opinion. Now those numbers have reversed.

In the latest results — based on more than 1,000 active-duty troops surveyed in late July and early August, about half — 49.9% — had an unfavorable view, while 38% had a favorable view.

Of those polled, more than 59% of officers said they have a poor view of the president. Among enlisted respondents, 47% said they have an unfavorable view

Military leaders are aware they can be pulled increasingly into the election and have advised their subordinates and political leaders about their concerns. They are carefully watching to make sure they're not drawn into any overt political scenes.