Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested at a Tuesday rally in North Carolina that American soldiers in the Iraq War tasked with “bringing baskets of money, millions and millions of dollars, and handing it out” are “living very well right now.”
John Harwood of CNBC and the New York Times reports Trump was speaking about American soldiers and implied these Americans had stolen money intended for reconstruction of post-Saddam Iraq:
Trump suggested tonight that American soldiers in Iraq stole cash intended for reconstruction of Iraq, are “living very well” now
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) June 15, 2016
But Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks disputes that, saying her boss was referring to Iraqi soldiers “living very well”:
Trump spox Hope Hicks tells me “Mr. Trump was referring to Iraqi soldiers.” https://t.co/Mt7nefN462
— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) June 15, 2016
Watch video of Trump’s comment below:
“Iraq, crooked as hell,” Trump said. “How about bringing baskets of money, millions and millions of dollars, and handing it out? I want to know, who are the soldiers who had that job? Because I think they’re living very well right now, whoever they may be.”
The official Trump line, that the candidate was speaking about Iraqi soldiers, doesn’t really explain Trump’s actual words. Trump’s rhetoric can be confusing to follow, but what the Republican appears to say is that the soldiers whose job was to “hand out” money in Iraq are “living very well right now.” The duty of delivering money for reconstruction in Iraq was one for the American military, not the Iraqi military.
There have, in fact, been some cases of American military personnel serving in Iraq being accused of skimming money from funds intended for reconstruction in Iraq. These cases were investigated and prosecuted by federal authorities and the Department of Defense.
But Trump wasn’t talking about a few, isolated cases that were dealt with appropriately by law enforcement. The presumptive GOP nominee was implying widespread and institutional corruption, as he did with similar comments he made last fall in New Hampshire:
In those comments as well as his Tuesday comments in North Carolina, it’s fairly obvious Trump was not referring to Iraqi soldiers but, in fact, American soldiers.
