Presidential hopeful and GOP front-runner Donald Trump is no stranger to controversy, but recently uncovered video footage of Trump’s 1997 interview with radio host Howard Stern reveals that the real estate tycoon compared his own promiscuity with fighting in Vietnam.
Trump is rather duplicitous where fighting wars and veterans are concerned. On the one hand he touts his support of America’s men and women in uniform at his circus-like campaign rallies. On the other Trump issues criticisms like the one he leveled at war hero Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) who was shot down and held as a prisoner of war for several years in Vietnam.
“He’s not a war hero,” Trump stated. “I like people who weren’t captured.”
Judging from Trump’s interview with Stern it appears that the conservative poster boy also prefers a playboy lifestyle over defending his country. He even went so far as to label himself “a great and very brave soldier” for his ability to escape the 1980’s without contracting a sexually transmitted disease. At Stern’s urging Trump characterized promiscuous behavior as his own “personal Vietnam.” During the brief interview Trump somehow manages to turn the war in Vietnam into a colossal joke.
The interview is a classic example of Trump’s no-filter style of speaking. He appears to speak first and consider the ramifications of his words later. It will be interesting to see how American veterans can reconcile Donald Trump’s attitude with his claim that he will be a strong advocate for veteran’s affairs.