CharlotteDems.com Editor’s Note: The following letter to the editor from CCDEC Vice Chair Teresa Jenkins was published Wednesday, Dec. 26, in the Charlotte Sun.
Editor:
Donald Trump can’t be bothered with visiting troops that he ordered to the front lines. Rather, he’ll be spending Christmas and New Years – 16 days — at his home in Palm Beach.
Trump probably won’t have to worry about rain preventing him from golfing. Rain was his excuse for not visiting an American cemetery in France last month.
At the Mexican border, where the president sent thousands of soldiers in a pre-election ploy to rile up anti-immigrant sentiment, U.S. soldiers will be kept from their families this Christmas.
Nearly every president since Dwight Eisenhower visited soldiers in conflict zones, except Trump. Barack Obama visited Afghanistan four times.
Trump is happy to berate athletes who kneel during the national anthem as disrespectful of the military. Mr. President: You are disrespectful of the military. Your excuses to not visit our soldiers — too busy, too scared, too rainy — are, as usual, all about you.
Visiting troops is about those who are far from home serving a cause greater than them, not about the president.
Trump benefits financially from visits to Mar-a-Lago. His 16-day stint will net Mara- Lago and Trump millions in taxpayer dollars. His continued use of this residence for diplomatic business steers cash into his pockets.
What sets this president apart is the degree to which he acts first in his own self-interest.
The president isn’t concerned about our troops, national security, or foreign governments tampering with our elections. He’s got one paramount thing on his mind: himself.
Teresa Jenkins
Punta Gorda
