Day 313: Trump Insults War Heroes
During World War II, Native Americans were used to convey critical secret messages between American forces on the front lines. The Axis tried for years to crack the various codes, but could never do it. Native Americans from over a dozen tribes served in the United States military, including more than 400 members from the Navajo tribe.
They were efficient and excellent at their jobs. They saved countless American lives.
According to the CIA, they were especially crucial in the Pacific theater.
A skeptical lieutenant decided to test their skills and the code before trusting them to deliver actual combat messages.
The Code Talkers successfully translated, transmitted and re-translated a test message in two and a half minutes. Without using the Navajo code, it could take hours for a soldier to complete the same task.
From then on, the Code Talkers were used in every major operation involving the Marines in the Pacific theater. Their primary job was to transmit tactical information over telephone and radio.
During the invasion of Iwo Jima, six Navajo Code Talkers were operating continuously. They sent more than 800 messages. All of the messages were transmitted without error.
The Navajo Code Talkers were treated with the utmost respect by their fellow marines. Major Howard Connor, who was the signal officer of the Navajos at Iwo Jima, said, “Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima.”
Donald Trump brought three Navajo Code Talkers to the White House, ostensibly to honor these American heroes. Instead, he insulted them at every turn.
First, he held the ceremony in the Oval Office, directly in front of Andrew Jackson’s portrait. In the 1830s, Jackson famously led forced removals of Native Americans from their land, known as the Trail of Tears. The forced migration led to thousands of deaths.
As if that wasn’t ignominious enough, Trump took the moment to compare the Navajo to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), invoking Trump’s offensive nickname for her, Pocahontas. Trump then patronizes the Navajo, tapping one of the members on the shoulder like a child and saying, “But you know what? I like you. Because you are special.”
These are American heroes who served with distinction and who saved American lives. Trump is simultaneously insulting them and treating them like props to settle political scores.
Navajo Nation Council Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty released a statement, calling Trump’s comments “careless” and the “latest example of systemic, deep-seated ignorance of Native Americans and our intrinsic right to exist and practice our ways of life.”
The statement continued, “The intentional disregard of the historical trauma of Pocahontas as a sexual assault survivor directly resulting from colonization is disturbing.”
Recognizing the antics were far beyond anything meant to honor the tribe, she added, “The Navajo Code Talkers are not pawns to advance a personal grudge, or promote false narratives. Such pandering dishonors the sacrifice of our national heroes.”
Trump insults war heroes as he’s supposed to be honoring them. Just another day in Trump’s White House.
313 days in, 1149 to go
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