Donald Trump spent years trying to kick veterans off Fifth Avenue


In protest against Fox News picking his archenemy, Megyn Kelly, as a debate moderator, Donald Trump has announced plans to host a counter-event in Iowa "to raise money for the veterans and wounded warriors, who have been treated so horribly by our all talk, no action politicians," his campaign announced. The event has raised the eyebrows of more than a few New York City street vendors with special disabled veteran's licenses, who for over a decade faced Trump's unsympathetic attempts to get them removed, The Daily Beast reports.
The New York Daily News discovered last year that in 1991, Trump wrote to the New York State Assembly asking, "While disabled veterans should be given every opportunity to earn a living, is it fair to do so to the detriment of the city as a whole or its tax paying citizens and businesses? ... Do we allow Fifth Avenue, one of the world's finest and most luxurious shopping districts, to be turned into an outdoor flea market, clogging and seriously downgrading the area?"
Trump hadn't let up in 2004, either, when he wrote the mayor to say, "Whether they are veterans or not, [the vendors] should not be allowed to sell on this most important and prestigious shopping street... The image of New York City will suffer... I hope you can stop this very deplorable situation before it is too late."
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One peddler who learned of Trump's Iowa event from The Daily Beast called the stunt "disgusting."
The peddler did not expect that this born-again Trump would now favor allowing disabled vets to sell their wares on the golden avenue where his tower stands."First class war vets, second class back-at-homes," the peddler said.He then added, "Go take a picture of the planters."He meant the large cement planters that Trump has placed outside the tower, not to ward off possible terrorists but to keep away peddlers. [The Daily Beast]
And that's not all: Wounded Warrior Project, who has received funds from Trump publicity events in the past, has not been contacted by Trump about doing an event; other major veterans organizations have said they don't want to take any money Trump makes off promoting himself and will reject his offer, Red State reports.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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