Politics

Trump To Troops On Thanksgiving: ‘We Love You’

Donald Trump at a rally in Washington, D.C. (Creative Commons/Flikr JoshuaMHoover)

President Donald Trump gave thanks to U.S. troops in a video call from his luxury resort Mar-a-Lago on Thanksgiving and praised them for all the progress they’ve made.

“We totally support you. In fact, we love you,” Trump said Thursday morning, according to The Washington Examiner. “We really do, we love you.”

“Everybody’s talking about the progress you’ve made in the last few months since I opened it up,” he added. “We opened it up to go ahead, we’re gonna fight to win. We’re not fighting anymore to just walk around, we’re fighting to win.”

Trump noted that the fight against the Islamic State was turning in America’s favor, as city after city formerly held by ISIS is recaptured. But this progress, according to Trump, is partly because rules of engagement under previous administrations had hamstrung troops from carrying out their jobs.

Trump also mentioned progress in Afghanistan, as he recently authorized a troop increase to the region.

“We’re really winning, we know how to win,” he said. “But we have to let you win, they weren’t letting you win before. They were letting you play even. We’re letting you win.”

In a separate Thanksgiving message to Americans, Trump also said that Americans should give thanks to troops who can’t come home for Thanksgiving, as they’re deployed overseas.

We are eternally grateful for their courage, heroism and sacrifice,” Trump said.

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