Trump Says He Hasn't Visited Troops In Afghanistan, Iraq Because He's 'Very Busy'
President Donald Trump said he hasn’t made his way overseas to visit troops because he’s “very busy.”
The president told The Associated Press in an interview published on Tuesday that he’ll go overseas to military bases in places like Iraq and Afghanistan “at some point,” but he doesn’t “think it’s overly necessary.”
“I’ve been very busy with everything that’s taking place here,” Trump said, before going on a tangent, claiming that this is the greatest economy the U.S. ever had.
“We have the greatest economy in the history of our country. I mean, this is the greatest economy we’ve ever had, best unemployment numbers,” he said. “Many groups are, you know, we’ve never even been close to these numbers. I’m doing a lot of things. I’m doing a lot of things. But it’s something I’d do. And do gladly. Nobody has been better at the military. Hey, I just got them a pay raise. I haven’t had a pay raise in 11 years. I just got them a substantial pay raise. ‘They’ meaning our military people. I just got them new equipment. They have stuff that was so old that the grandfathers used to fly it. I have done more for the military than any president in many, many years.”
Trump added that he also wants to keep the troops abroad so the country stays safe.
“The main thing I have to see is, I have to see safety at home,” he said. “If I think people are likely to do some very bad things in faraway places to our homeland, I’m going to have troops there for a period of time.”
Presidents often visit active military personnel. Former President Barack Obama traveled to Iraq mere months after he was inaugurated.
The 45th president hasn’t totally avoided military bases around the world, having gone to both Japan and South Korea during his trip to Asia last year, but he has not been to the bases in the Middle East or elsewhere.
Despite being busy, Trump did not hesitate to offer a defense to his disparaging comments about Stormy Daniels in the interview with the AP. When the wire service asked Trump about whether it was appropriate to call her “horseface,” he told them they could take the nasty remark “any way you want.”
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
