Donald Trump Honors Military Veterans He Once Mocked

President Donald Trump paid tribute to former prisoners of war, despite having mocked Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for having been captured.

Declaring Sunday “National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day,” Trump said that “America honors our service men and women imprisoned during war. These patriots have moved and inspired our Nation through their unyielding sacrifices and devout allegiance.”

The honor, which is undoubtedly a deserving one, is a bit ironic given Trump’s previous comments about POWs. Trump has on multiple occasions criticized McCain’s military credentials and mocked him for having been a prisoner of war.

“He’s a war hero because he was captured,” he said in July 2015. “I like people who weren’t captured.”

Days later, he retweeted a tweet claiming McCain “is not a hero.”

Trump has also said that he “wouldn’t want to be in a foxhole” with McCain, who spent five years in captivity after being shot down in Vietnam.

The president avoided serving in the Vietnam War with multiple draft deferments. He once joked that his sex life was his “own personal Vietnam.”

But the irony of this weekend’s tribute extends far beyond the president’s feud with McCain. In his federal budget proposal released last month, Trump proposed cutting services that many vets rely on, including Meals on Wheels, affordable housing, and a key interagency council on homelessness. He also received widespread criticism after attacking the parents of a slain U.S. soldier.