When talking about his various endorsements in a Tuesday morning interview with local news station WJXT in Jacksonville, Florida, Donald Trump claimed that he'd been "largely" endorsed by the military — "at least conceptually." "We've had tremendous veteran endorsements because the veterans have been treated so unfairly," Trump said.
The claim is questionable on multiple levels — namely, what is a "conceptual" endorsement? It would seem only Trump knows the answer to that.
Then there's the fact that the law explicitly prevents federal agencies from making political endorsements. The Department of Defense has a "set of guidelines that tightly restricts any active duty military or civilian personnel from publicly choosing political sides," NBC News reported, which all but rules out active military members endorsing Trump. Those laws also mean Trump couldn't possibly have that endorsement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that he often boasts about having.
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As for retired members, Trump hasn't exactly won them over in droves, either. NBC News reported Trump has gotten an endorsement from about 88 retired military figures; for comparison's sake, Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, was endorsed by more than 500 retired military members.
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