by Mike Smith Military members will often assign the term “weenie” to people who speak with much bravado, but when confronted with the prospect of actually fighting for this country — or putting their life on the line for others — they simply run the other way.
Donald Trump is acting like a weenie.
More than 58,000 Americans were killed in Vietnam and another 153,000 were wounded. When you come from privilege, as does Trump, true courage and heroism would have been serving in the military or speaking out against the war in a meaningful way. Trump chose to do neither. Doing neither is, well, being a weenie.
Here’s the thing about weenies; they have to feel superior. They have an insatiable desire to create the illusion they are smarter, savvier and more sophisticated than most, when they are not. And when they are intimidated by the accomplishment of others, they go on the attack to denigrate those they believe are threats. This explains Trump’s attack on Sen. John McCain.
The truth is, John McCain nearly died in Vietnam, first when his fighter jet was shot out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile and second during his 5 ½ years of captivity as a prisoner of war, where he was repeatedly, brutally tortured. And yet Trump attacked McCain’s heroism despite having never experienced anything approaching this kind of life-or-death challenge or test of character.
Being confronted with one’s own mortality frequently brings people closer to their faith. Faced with death, you pray for forgiveness, understanding and guidance in making you a better person if you do survive. But Trump says he has never asked for forgiveness from God. This statement says a lot.
It’s certainly believable that he hasn’t put himself in a situation where he’s had to confront death (like our military troops, police officers and firefighters do every day). Trump’s infamous New York City nightclub romps with various beauties as a draft-age youth, and a business and political doctrine based on the personal destruction of opponents, have apparently never inspired him to seek God’s forgiveness. Though, perhaps, they should. Trump’s life of partying, womanizing and cutthroat deals is a far cry from the jungles of Vietnam where making it home meant something profoundly different than having your driver pick you up at the club.
Every veteran deserves our respect. John McCain is no exception whether you agree with his politics or not.
It has been almost a week since Trump first insulted McCain. He has tried to move past this controversy by changing the subject. Avoiding an apology — not owning the mistake — is another telltale sign of a weenie.
What’s equally disappointing are the sycophants in both talk television and radio who try to defend his actions in hopes the attention he gets in other areas — namely immigration — is not diminished. When something is wrong, it is wrong and it needs to be called out. Trying to defend the indefensible only makes hypocrites out of those who claim to be ideologically pure.
Jane Fonda posed on an anti-aircraft gun near Hanoi and was criticized because it symbolized support for shooting down American aircraft and the killing or capturing of our pilots. By Donald Trump standards, Americans shot down by that same gun, imprisoned and brutally tortured don’t deserve our respect because he likes the people that weren’t captured. This ridiculous comment should be met with the same amount of outrage that was rightfully heaped on Fonda, especially from supporters of Trump. Not to do so diminishes the sacrifices of those American POWs, in fact, all American POWs, some of whom died in captivity.
It is likely that Trump would have failed as a leader in the military. A combat solider leads by example and relies on a team to survive. Each team member is responsible for the wellbeing of the other. Trump, on the other hand, is an individual looking for issues that boost his popularity without regards to others. The military value system of humility, honor, trust and team is diametrically opposed to the weenie value system of braggadocio, deal making, mistrust and individualism all designed to boost oneself at the expense of others.
It seems that Donald Trump has never cared for a gravely wounded friend cut down by enemy bullets in a fierce battle; he’s never zipped one into a body bag; he’s never been held prisoner and inhumanely tortured while serving his nation. He’s never been wounded. None of these things are prerequisites for serving as president, of course.
But respecting those that have experienced this is a requirement.
Only weenies don’t understand this.
Mike Smith, a former Navy SEAL. was the secretary of administration under former Gov. James Douglas. He is a political analyst for WCAX-TV and WVMT radio and is a regular contributor to The Times Argus and Vermont Business Magazine.