FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – In this soldier’s city and across the country, veterans and military families are divided about reports that President Donald Trump made disparaging comments toward the military, with some service members bristling at the remarks and others questioning whether they happened.
Thomas Richardson, a retired member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne, did not like what he heard.
Richardson was trained to respect the office of commander in chief, but he was rankled by allegations in The Atlantic, many of them independently confirmed by The Associated Press, that Trump had referred to fallen and captured U.S. service members as “losers” and “suckers.”
“Usually, you don’t choose those kinds of missions. You agree to serve and you agree to go where your assignment is,” said Richardson, who did not vote for Trump in 2016.
Fayetteville, home to more than 200,000 people, is bordered by Fort Bragg on its northern limits. It was named in 1783 for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution.