The Associated Press asked Donald Trump this week why he hasn’t yet visited a military base in a combat zone like in Iraq and Afghanistan. The president said he would eventually, though he doesn’t see it as “overly necessary.”
Trump added, “I’ve been very busy with everything that’s taking place here…. I’m doing a lot of things. I’m doing a lot of things.”
He didn’t specify what those “things” are, exactly, though they apparently include activities such as golfing, watching television, and holding a whole lot of campaign rallies. (I wonder what would’ve happened if Barack Obama had peddled a line like this one.)
But as part of the Republican president’s answer, he added a familiar claim:
“Nobody has been better at the military. Hey, I just got them a pay raise. [They] haven’t had a pay raise in 11 years. I just got them a substantial pay raise. ‘They’ meaning our military people.”
In one recent iteration of this story, Trump said the troops hadn’t received a raise in “10 years.” Now it’s up to 11.
Except, to the extent that the truth matters, it should be zero. As we discussed a few months ago, there were raises for our military in 2017. And 2016. And 2015 and 2014. And every other year of the Obama era. And every year of the Bush era. And every year of the Clinton era.
In fact, the military has gotten a raise practically every year since the end of World War II. It’s the sort of detail a competent Commander in Chief should probably be aware of.









