1 00:00:04,795 --> 00:00:16,435 Speaker 1: Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of iHeartRadio. This 2 00:00:16,635 --> 00:00:20,315 Speaker 1: is a Countdown Bulletin podcast. I'm Keith Olberman. And at 3 00:00:20,355 --> 00:00:23,675 Speaker 1: any other point in our nation's history, of presidential candidate 4 00:00:23,875 --> 00:00:27,235 Speaker 1: who said what Donald Trump has now said about winners 5 00:00:27,275 --> 00:00:30,035 Speaker 1: of the Congressional Medal of Honor would not only have 6 00:00:30,155 --> 00:00:33,875 Speaker 1: had his nomination rescinded by his party, but its leaders 7 00:00:33,915 --> 00:00:36,915 Speaker 1: would have expelled him and probably chased him out of 8 00:00:36,955 --> 00:00:40,435 Speaker 1: the country, or at least chased him into hiding, as 9 00:00:40,475 --> 00:00:44,355 Speaker 1: his campaign has accused its opponent's running mate of quote 10 00:00:44,395 --> 00:00:49,435 Speaker 1: stolen valor Trump at his Ramshackle golf course last night 11 00:00:49,475 --> 00:00:53,715 Speaker 1: in Bedminster, New Jersey, quote honoring Miriam Addelson, a wealthy 12 00:00:53,795 --> 00:00:56,155 Speaker 1: widow trying to help him buy the election, and the 13 00:00:56,195 --> 00:00:59,515 Speaker 1: government saying that the Presidential Medal of Freedom that he 14 00:00:59,555 --> 00:01:02,915 Speaker 1: gave her was quote better than the Congressional Medal of 15 00:01:02,955 --> 00:01:07,075 Speaker 1: Honor because the recipients of the ladder are usually deceased 16 00:01:07,235 --> 00:01:07,875 Speaker 1: or injured. 17 00:01:08,235 --> 00:01:11,315 Speaker 2: I have to say, Miriam, I watched Sheldon sitting so 18 00:01:11,475 --> 00:01:14,715 Speaker 2: proud in the White House when we gave Miriam the 19 00:01:14,795 --> 00:01:18,395 Speaker 2: Presidential Medal of Freedom. That's the highest award you can 20 00:01:18,435 --> 00:01:21,515 Speaker 2: get as a civilian it's the equivalent of the Congressional 21 00:01:21,675 --> 00:01:25,595 Speaker 2: Medal of Honor, but civilian version it's actually much better 22 00:01:25,635 --> 00:01:29,795 Speaker 2: because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor. That soldiers 23 00:01:30,355 --> 00:01:32,835 Speaker 2: they're either in very bad shape because they've been hit 24 00:01:32,875 --> 00:01:36,795 Speaker 2: so many times by bullets, or they're dead. She gets it, 25 00:01:37,075 --> 00:01:39,555 Speaker 2: and she's a healthy, beautiful woman, So. 26 00:01:41,955 --> 00:01:45,555 Speaker 1: They're read an equal even for an unstable narcissist with 27 00:01:45,675 --> 00:01:49,235 Speaker 1: no concept of right or wrong. That is a statement 28 00:01:49,275 --> 00:01:54,515 Speaker 1: that goes beyond any imaginable bounds of suitability for office 29 00:01:55,195 --> 00:01:57,515 Speaker 1: or to be thought of as having had any respect 30 00:01:57,515 --> 00:02:02,635 Speaker 1: for American veterans. There are adamant leftist anti war protesters 31 00:02:02,635 --> 00:02:05,715 Speaker 1: in this country who have devoted their laws to trying 32 00:02:05,755 --> 00:02:09,555 Speaker 1: to stop war or to desanctify its soldiers, who would 33 00:02:09,635 --> 00:02:12,875 Speaker 1: be shunned by their peers if they made such a 34 00:02:12,915 --> 00:02:18,115 Speaker 1: horrific degradation of wounded, brave, self sacrificing Americans, no matter 35 00:02:18,155 --> 00:02:20,795 Speaker 1: who put them there or what they were fighting for. 36 00:02:21,275 --> 00:02:25,475 Speaker 1: Donald Trump last night might as well have urinated on 37 00:02:25,595 --> 00:02:29,715 Speaker 1: the graves of our greatest heroes and on their wounds. 38 00:02:30,635 --> 00:02:33,755 Speaker 1: The Adelson remarks soiling the Congressional Medal of Honor and 39 00:02:33,795 --> 00:02:37,195 Speaker 1: its recipients. Is hardly Trump's first denigration of veterans and 40 00:02:37,235 --> 00:02:41,075 Speaker 1: even the war dead. During a twenty fifteen appearance in Iowa, 41 00:02:41,395 --> 00:02:45,715 Speaker 1: Trump criticized Senator John McCain at his service in Vietnam. 42 00:02:46,115 --> 00:02:48,835 Speaker 1: He called out McCain's time as a prisoner of war. 43 00:02:49,195 --> 00:02:51,835 Speaker 1: He's not a war hero, Trump said, he was a 44 00:02:51,875 --> 00:02:55,155 Speaker 1: war hero because he was captured. I like people who 45 00:02:55,195 --> 00:02:59,755 Speaker 1: weren't captured, unquote. One year later, Trump attacked a gold 46 00:02:59,795 --> 00:03:03,635 Speaker 1: Star family, the parents of a deceased serviceman, Kazir and 47 00:03:03,675 --> 00:03:08,075 Speaker 1: Gahala Khan, Pakistani Americans whose son died in the Iraq 48 00:03:08,115 --> 00:03:10,915 Speaker 1: War in two thousand and four. They called Trump out 49 00:03:10,955 --> 00:03:13,995 Speaker 1: for his public attacks on Muslims and implied that Trump 50 00:03:14,075 --> 00:03:17,275 Speaker 1: had never read the Constitution. Mister Khan, you will recall 51 00:03:17,635 --> 00:03:20,115 Speaker 1: waves a small copy of the Constitution, he said he 52 00:03:20,155 --> 00:03:23,355 Speaker 1: carried with them at all times. At the Democratic National Convention, 53 00:03:24,075 --> 00:03:28,275 Speaker 1: Kazir Khan made the entire speech, and Trump insisted that 54 00:03:28,355 --> 00:03:31,315 Speaker 1: he did so because his wife was not allowed to speak, 55 00:03:31,635 --> 00:03:34,915 Speaker 1: drawing on the implication that Muslim women are subservient to 56 00:03:34,995 --> 00:03:38,315 Speaker 1: their spouses, In fact, she was too emotional to say anything. 57 00:03:38,635 --> 00:03:41,595 Speaker 1: He added that the Khan's son quote would be alive 58 00:03:41,715 --> 00:03:45,115 Speaker 1: today quote if he had been president. He also suggested 59 00:03:45,155 --> 00:03:47,235 Speaker 1: the US never would have entered a war with Iraq 60 00:03:47,435 --> 00:03:51,635 Speaker 1: if he'd been president. Then, while in office, Trump infamously 61 00:03:51,675 --> 00:03:55,595 Speaker 1: demanded that wounded veterans not be included in a military 62 00:03:55,635 --> 00:03:59,275 Speaker 1: parade being held realistically in his honor. On the fourth 63 00:03:59,275 --> 00:04:02,715 Speaker 1: of July, he told his Chief of Staff, General John Kelly. 64 00:04:02,755 --> 00:04:06,235 Speaker 1: Per reports later traced to Kelly quote, Look, I don't 65 00:04:06,235 --> 00:04:10,395 Speaker 1: want any wounded guys in the parade. Trump reportedly requested, 66 00:04:10,675 --> 00:04:14,875 Speaker 1: this doesn't look good for me. Just last year, Kelly 67 00:04:14,915 --> 00:04:18,435 Speaker 1: wrote a statement to CNN. What can I add? He 68 00:04:18,475 --> 00:04:21,115 Speaker 1: wrote that has not already been said. A person that 69 00:04:21,195 --> 00:04:23,555 Speaker 1: did not want to be seen in the presence of 70 00:04:23,675 --> 00:04:27,795 Speaker 1: military amputees because it doesn't look good for me. A 71 00:04:27,835 --> 00:04:31,355 Speaker 1: person who demonstrated open contempt for a gold Star family 72 00:04:31,595 --> 00:04:35,235 Speaker 1: for all gold Star families on TV during the twenty 73 00:04:35,315 --> 00:04:39,235 Speaker 1: sixteen campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who 74 00:04:39,275 --> 00:04:43,195 Speaker 1: gave their lives in America's defense are quote losers and 75 00:04:43,235 --> 00:04:47,155 Speaker 1: wouldn't visit their graves in France un quote from John Kelly. 76 00:04:47,555 --> 00:04:50,275 Speaker 1: That was a reference to an event in twenty eighteen 77 00:04:50,555 --> 00:04:54,875 Speaker 1: at the American Military Cemetery in France. Trump there reportedly 78 00:04:54,915 --> 00:04:57,595 Speaker 1: referred to American soldiers who had died in World War 79 00:04:57,715 --> 00:05:02,675 Speaker 1: One as quote losers and quote suckers. Senior defense officials 80 00:05:02,675 --> 00:05:06,115 Speaker 1: reported at the time that Trump made the comments before 81 00:05:06,275 --> 00:05:10,235 Speaker 1: a canceled visit to the American Military Cemetery outside Paris, 82 00:05:10,475 --> 00:05:12,875 Speaker 1: and stated that he didn't want to visit that cemetery 83 00:05:12,915 --> 00:05:17,555 Speaker 1: because it was quote filled with losers un quote. Trump 84 00:05:17,635 --> 00:05:20,995 Speaker 1: on the same trip later called one thousand, eight hundred 85 00:05:21,115 --> 00:05:25,395 Speaker 1: US Marines suckers were being killed during the Battle of 86 00:05:25,475 --> 00:05:28,915 Speaker 1: bellow Wood, one of the iconic events in American military 87 00:05:28,995 --> 00:05:34,755 Speaker 1: history in nineteen eighteen, often overlooked. In twenty twenty, Trump 88 00:05:34,875 --> 00:05:38,355 Speaker 1: downplayed the severity of the injuries of some troops after 89 00:05:38,435 --> 00:05:42,035 Speaker 1: a missile attack on their base in Iraq. In January 90 00:05:42,075 --> 00:05:46,075 Speaker 1: twenty twenty, Eleven American soldiers were impacted when the Ayen 91 00:05:46,155 --> 00:05:49,635 Speaker 1: al Assad air base in Iraq was targeted in a 92 00:05:49,635 --> 00:05:54,395 Speaker 1: missile attack by Iran. Eight sought treatment for concussions, three 93 00:05:54,515 --> 00:05:58,235 Speaker 1: for psychological sequala. Trump told the media there had been 94 00:05:58,315 --> 00:06:01,595 Speaker 1: no American injuries. At a news conference, he said, quote 95 00:06:01,755 --> 00:06:04,275 Speaker 1: I heard that they had headaches and a couple of 96 00:06:04,315 --> 00:06:07,955 Speaker 1: other things. I've seen people with no legs and no arms. 97 00:06:08,075 --> 00:06:12,555 Speaker 1: I consider them to be really bad injuries. This latest 98 00:06:12,595 --> 00:06:15,915 Speaker 1: blasphemy comes in the middle of a concerted attempt by 99 00:06:15,915 --> 00:06:19,595 Speaker 1: his campaign to ride the limited military service of his 100 00:06:19,675 --> 00:06:23,235 Speaker 1: vice presidential pick, Senator Vance of Ohio as some kind 101 00:06:23,275 --> 00:06:27,115 Speaker 1: of indicator of patriotism and bravery, and the attempt to 102 00:06:27,155 --> 00:06:31,515 Speaker 1: swift vote his Democratic vice presidential nominee opposite Tim Walls, 103 00:06:31,795 --> 00:06:35,355 Speaker 1: because there are nuanced details at the end of Walls's 104 00:06:35,435 --> 00:06:38,355 Speaker 1: twenty four year career in the military, a career which 105 00:06:38,395 --> 00:06:42,155 Speaker 1: Walls resumed coming out of retirement after nine to eleven. 106 00:06:42,635 --> 00:06:48,395 Speaker 1: A Trump Vance surrogate called Walls a quote coward just 107 00:06:48,555 --> 00:06:53,915 Speaker 1: yesterday in Pennsylvania. And there is Trump's own original sin 108 00:06:54,035 --> 00:06:58,675 Speaker 1: in this area. He somehow obtained five deferments from service 109 00:06:59,035 --> 00:07:04,155 Speaker 1: in Vietnam in the nineteen sixties using quote bone spurs. 110 00:07:05,875 --> 00:07:10,195 Speaker 1: Bone spurs that mysteriously ended at the same time Trump's 111 00:07:10,235 --> 00:07:15,275 Speaker 1: eligibility for the military draft ended. Here again is what 112 00:07:15,315 --> 00:07:18,515 Speaker 1: Trump said about the Congressional Medal of Honor last night 113 00:07:18,555 --> 00:07:19,275 Speaker 1: in New Jersey. 114 00:07:19,675 --> 00:07:22,795 Speaker 2: I have to say, Miriam, I watched Sheldon sitting so 115 00:07:22,915 --> 00:07:26,155 Speaker 2: proud in the White House when we gave Miriam the 116 00:07:26,275 --> 00:07:29,835 Speaker 2: Presidential Medal of Freedom. That's the highest award you can 117 00:07:29,875 --> 00:07:32,955 Speaker 2: get as a civilian. It's the equivalent of the Congressional 118 00:07:33,115 --> 00:07:37,075 Speaker 2: Medal of Honor, but civilian version. It's actually much better 119 00:07:37,075 --> 00:07:40,555 Speaker 2: because everyone gets the Congressional. 120 00:07:39,955 --> 00:07:40,555 Speaker 1: Medal of Honor. 121 00:07:40,595 --> 00:07:43,995 Speaker 2: That soldiers they're either in very bad shape because they've 122 00:07:43,995 --> 00:07:46,435 Speaker 2: been hit so many times by bullets, or they're dead. 123 00:07:47,515 --> 00:07:50,715 Speaker 2: She gets it, and she's a healthy, beautiful woman. 124 00:07:50,795 --> 00:08:06,715 Speaker 1: It's fair, and they're read. An Equal Countdown with Keith 125 00:08:06,755 --> 00:08:11,795 Speaker 1: Olderman is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 126 00:08:11,955 --> 00:08:15,995 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get 127 00:08:16,035 --> 00:08:16,915 Speaker 1: your podcasts.