Donald Trump has bragged about his commitment to veterans, but the Daily Beast reports that he’s yet to have an in-person meeting with them since becoming president. On Tuesday, a group of vets thought they would be the first collective to meet with Trump on their issues, but he reportedly couldn’t meet them and sent multiple staffers, including former Apprentice star Omarosa, in his place. As a result of multiple failed efforts to meet with Trump, the veterans are said to feel “completely rebuffed” by the president.
The Daily Beast noted that Trump was not officially scheduled to meet with the group of veterans on Tuesday, but they attended an authorized event in the West Wing and expected to meet him. He acknowledged them and sent some surrogates in his place. He may have been justifiably busy — after all, he is commander-in-chief — but the group was still disappointed. In his place were Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and, most surprisingly, Omarosa, which left some scratching their heads:
Several described their surprise at that meeting to see that Omarosa was not only present at the meeting, but appeared to be the most senior transition staff member attending, despite having no experience with either the VA or healthcare. Omarosa explained her qualifications by saying that she had once been a lieutenant chaplain with the California State Military Reserve.
“When Omarosa was introduced the room collectively gasped,” said one attendee, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid conflict with the White House. “There were people there missing limbs and she was once a chaplain with the militia.”
This isn’t the first time that Trump has disappointed veterans, for he reportedly chose to only meet with healthcare executives (not actual veterans) in February to discuss how they could improve the VA. However, The Daily Beast reported that the White House experience wasn’t a total bust, as the vets were apparently pleased with Sulking, whom they described as “positive” and “very receptive.”
(Via The Daily Beast)