Twitter / @DonaldJGrumpy
President Trump is threatening to veto a bill that would raise U.S. troops’ pay if Congress requires the Pentagon to remove the names of Confederate generals from military bases. Trump has made a habit of taking norm-shattering racist actions, but cutting military pay to preserve the legacy of traitors may not appeal to his base.
In Tweets riddled with capital letters and exclamation points, Trump declared that he opposes a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act passed by the GOP-led Senate. The amendment to the NDAA, which funds military operations and includes a 3% raise for troops, requires the Pentagon to remove the names of Confederate generals from military bases, according to the Washington Post.
By opposing the removal of the names, Trump is defying not only Senate Republicans but also Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, both of whom have expressed support for the measure.
Trump also attacked Democrats who support the amendment. He used the “Pocahantas” slur in a tweet aimed at Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). In that same tweet, he claimed, irrationally, that changing the names of the bases would somehow hamper the ability of the military to train soldiers.
