Despite Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that he “loves the vets,” neither he nor any of the candidates still in the race for president were named as top advocates for veterans during 2015 in an annual list released Wednesday.
The HillVets Top 100 list is an unranked annual collection of the 100 most influential veterans, troops and their supporters named by the organization that works to empower veterans to get jobs serving their country even after leaving the military.
Three Republican presidential contenders who have already exited the race did make the list as some of the “most exemplary representatives of the veteran community, able to bridge the gap between the veteran and civilian population by educating and increasing the understanding between them.”
Former Sen. Jim Webb, Sen. Lindsey Graham and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry are all veterans themselves and appeared on the list.
“All of the candidates during their race highlighted that they believe having military experience is a positive attribute for the commander in chief and we agree. Congrats to Jim Webb, Senator Lindsay Graham, and Governor Rick Perry for their effort to run for president!” the list says.
But several names, in addition to Trump, are nowhere to be found on the list: Sens. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Each has a part of his or her website committing to taking care of those who fought for the country. Cruz focused on “honoring” veterans and bringing more accountability to the Veterans Affairs Department, while Rubio touted his involvement in introducing and passing a bill that made it easier to fire senior executive service employees at the VA.
Sanders, a former chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee who made last year’s list, promised to prioritize care for veterans as a cost of war just as important as planes or guns.
Trump repeatedly has said that he loves veterans and promised in a video on his site to take care of vets. But he faced backlash from veterans groups this year, who said they felt like political props when Trump pulled out of a Fox News debate to hold an event for veterans instead.
“You are a loser,” was the response from Jon Soltz, an Iraq war veteran and chairman of VoteVets. “We are not your prop and if you aren’t going to show up at tonight’s debate, you should use that time to craft a coherent plan to care for our country’s veterans.”
Two war heroes have also participated in a recent ad campaign, hitting Trump for dodging the draft and never serving in the military.
Others on the list include lawmakers, like Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., other Capitol Hill staff, like House Veterans Affairs Committee spokesman Curt Cashour, astronaut Scott Kelly, the first two women to successfully pass Ranger School last year, and the founders of veterans groups like Team Rubicon and Team RWB.
