From the beginning of his first campaign for president in 2015, Donald Trump has presented himself as an unorthodox Republican on matters of the military, national security and foreign policy. His rejection of the GOP's foreign policy legacy has long been centered around vociferous criticism of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, launched by President George W. Bush, which Trump has described as a disaster with no discernible benefit to the United States. Like so many of his claims, Trump's insistence that he opposed the war from the get-go is false, but he has certainly succeeded in reorienting the party's brand, if not always its actual record, away from aggressive overseas adventurism. His willingness to challenge once-hallowed notions about America's role in the world, however, has sometimes led him to make shocking comments about the U.S. military and veterans. His putative opposition to war has often been inconsistent and subject to revision based on what he perceives to be in his own political interest. .
The most incendiary report about Trump's running commentary on the military was a September 3, 2020, investigation in The Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg, including shocking second-hand reports about Trump's conduct from former advisors, including retired general and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Although Trump forcefully denied the veracity of Goldberg's reporting, a number of his most controversial remarks are drawn from that article. Trump subsequently sought to position himself as an ally of service members by throwing a lavish parade for the Army's 250th anniversary in June of this year, which just so happened to coincide with his birthday. In addition, his often puzzling or incendiary comments about America's past wars — as well as the U.S. stance on Russian president Vladimir Putin's unprovoked 2022 invasion of Ukraine — continue to happen either in full view of cameras or reporters or under his name on social media.
On trans Americans serving in the US military
"Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual's sex conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life. A man's assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member." January 27, 2025.
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"I don't want to tell you what I had to go through with these people. Some of the dumbest people I've ever met in my life." October 16, 2023.
"I wouldn't go to war with you people. You're a bunch of dopes and babies." July 20, 2017.
"You fucking generals. Why can't you be more like Hitler's generals?" 2017. Trump denies having made this remark.
On the burial of US Army private Vanessa Guillén
"It doesn't cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican!" December 4, 2020. Trump has denied having made the remark.
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On the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for five and a half years
"Obamacare is a catastrophe, nobody talks about it. You know, without John McCain, we would have had it done. But John McCain, for some reason, couldn't get his arm up." July 16, 2024.
"I was never a big fan of John McCain, disagreed with him on many things including ridiculous endless wars and the lack of success he had in dealing with the VA and our great Vets, but the lowering of our Nations American Flags, and the first class funeral he was given by our Country, had to be approved by me, as President, and I did so without hesitation or complaint. Quite the contrary, I felt it was well-deserved. I even sent Air Force One to bring his body, in casket, from Arizona to Washington. It was my honor to do so. Also, I never called John a loser and swear on whatever, or whoever, I was asked to swear on, that I never called our great fallen soldiers anything other than HEROES." September 4, 2020.
"We're not going to support that loser's funeral." August, 2018. Trump has denied having made this remark.
"He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, okay? I hate to tell you." July 18, 2015.
On lowering flags to half-mast after McCain's death
"What the fuck are we doing that for? Guy was a fucking loser." August 2018. Trump has denied making this remark.
On recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor
"It's the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor. But the civilian version, it's actually much better because everyone that gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they're soldiers. They're either in very bad shape because they've been hit so many times by bullets or they're dead." August 15th, 2024.
On not serving in the Vietnam War
"But, you know, during the Vietnam War, I got very lucky. I had a very high lottery number." November 9, 1995.
On concocting a fake injury to avoid service in Vietnam
"You think I'm stupid? I wasn't going to Vietnam." 2016.
On troops wounded in an Iranian retaliatory strike on a US airbase in Iraq
"I heard that they had headaches and a couple of other things. But I would say, and I can report, it is not very serious." January 8, 2020.
On fallen soldiers at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery
"Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." November 11, 2018. Trump denies having made this remark.
On the 1,800 US Marines who died at Belleau Wood in France during World War I
"Who were the good guys in this war?" November 11, 2018. Trump denies having asked this question.
"I don't get it. What was in it for them?" November 11, 2018. Trump denies having made this remark.
On disabled veterans
"Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded." September 30, 2019.
"Look, I don't want any wounded guys in the parade. This doesn't look good for me." Summer 2017.
On US military involvement in Afghanistan
"When will we stop wasting our money on rebuilding Afghanistan? We must rebuild our country first." October 7, 2011
"We made a terrible mistake getting involved there in the first place. It’s a mess, it's a mess and at this point we probably have to [leave U.S. troops in Afghanistan] because that thing will collapse in about two seconds after they leave." October 6, 2015
"My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts. But all my life I've heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office; in other words, when you're President of the United States. … That's why we will also expand authority for American armed forces to target the terrorist and criminal networks that sow violence and chaos throughout Afghanistan." August 21, 2017
"We're down to 4,000 troops in Afghanistan, and I will have them home by the end of the year. They're coming home as we speak. And 19 years is enough. They're acting as policemen, OK? They're not acting as troops." October 8, 2020
"Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world." August 26, 2024
On the 2003 US invasion of Iraq
"I'm no warmonger. But the fact is, if we decide a strike against Iraq is necessary, it is madness not to carry the mission to its conclusion. When we don't, we have the worst of all worlds: Iraq remains a threat, and now has more incentive than ever to attack us." January 15, 2000
"Everything that's happening started with us stupidly going into the war in Iraq." February 18, 2016
"I strongly disagreed with it, even though it wasn't my expertise at the time, 'That's a tremendous mistake.' And there were no weapons of mass destruction. It turned out I was right." October 27, 2019.
"We should have kept the oil when we got out. And you know, it's very interesting. Had we taken the oil, you wouldn't have ISIS, because they fuel themselves with the oil." January 25, 2017.
"Well, there were no weapons of mass destruction — I never thought there were …You know, it was, there was a nuclear age, but nothing like it is today. … I was very much opposed to the Iraq War, and I actually did say: don't go in, don't go in, don't go in. But if you're going to go in, keep the oil." June 20, 2025
On the Russia-Ukraine War
"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful." February 22, 2022.
"The Russian attack on Ukraine is appalling. We are praying for the proud people of Ukraine. God bless them all." February 26, 2022
"I'll get that war settled before I even become president. I will get it settled while I'm president-elect." September 19, 2024
"We have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine, where we have essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine — I mean, I hate to say it, but he's down at 4% approval rating — and where a country has been blown to smithereens."February 18, 2025
"You have millions of people dead. Millions of people dead because of three people. … Let's say Putin number one, but let's say Biden, who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelenskyy." April 14, 2025
"Missiles and drones are being shot into cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever. I've always said that [Putin] wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that's proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!" May 25, 2025
On a potential war with Iran
"Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly — not skilled!" October 7, 2011
"I have deep respect for the Iranian people. They are a remarkable people, with an incredible heritage and unlimited potential. We do not seek regime change. However, the Iranian regime's aggression in the region, including the use of proxy fighters to destabilize its neighbors, must end, and it must end now." January 3, 2020
"It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!" June 22, 2025
David Faris is a professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of "It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics." He's a frequent contributor to Newsweek and Slate, and his work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Republic and The Nation, among others.
