Piers Morgan stumps Trump on his transgender military ban and Viagra
![Trump chats with Piers Morgan](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Fz8fzA7wdLXrerKSQxvDEh-415-80.jpg)
In an interview with Piers Morgan on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain, President Trump said "there's always a chance" of military action against Iran, walked back his assertion Tuesday that Britain's public National Health Service would be part of a U.S.-Britain trade deal, said he "wouldn't have minded" serving during the Vietnam War but has made up for sitting it out by increasing military funding as president, and parried Morgan's question about U.S. gun violence by claiming he "read an article where everybody is being stabbed" in London, and "they said your hospital is a sea of blood, all over the floors."
Morgan asked about Trump's continued sniping at Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and Trump insisted he never attacks McCain and "I don't think about him," before criticizing McCain. Trump also tried to clarify his remark that Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is "nasty." Markle "was nasty about me," Trump said. "That's okay for her to be nasty. It's not good for me to be nasty to her, and I wasn't."
When Morgan tried to square Trump's tweeted support for the LGBT community and his anti-LGBT policies, notably his ban on transgender military service members, Trump blamed drugs. He banned transgender troops "because they take massive amounts of drugs," he said, and "in the U.S. military you are not allowed to take any drugs." Morgan shot back that "the U.S. military spends a lot more money, for example, on giving Viagra to servicemen and women — well, servicemen — than it does on medical bills for transgender people," and Trump responded, "I didn't know they did that."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Axios notes that, according to a 2017 Military Times report, the U.S. military spends at least 10 times more on Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs than on health care for transgender personnel, and gender-transition costs would be a similarly tiny slice of the military budget.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
10 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From cell reparation to monkey communication
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
TV to watch in September, from 'Agatha All Along' to 'The Penguin'
The Week Recommends A 'WandaVision' spinoff, a DC Comics villain's starring turn and a silly Netflix original
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Pope urges climate action, unity at Jakarta mosque
Speed Read The pope and the mosque's top cleric signed a joint declaration encouraging religious tolerance and climate change action
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published