Donald Trump, after a veteran pointed out that 20 veterans die a day from suicide during Wednesday night’s Commander in Chiefs Forum, began his answer to her question by correcting her with an old figure that has since been changed.
“Mr. Trump, I wanted to ask what your plan will be to stop 20 veterans a day from killing themsleves,” said Rachel Fredericks, a Marine veteran and undecided Republican who has lost two friends to suicide and suffers from post-traumatic stress.
“Actually, it’s 22,” Trump said, as Fredericks shook her head.
In July, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported that 20 veterans die every day from suicide. An article in Military Times said the 22 number had been around for years and was considered “problematic.”
And @realDonaldTrump corrects a veteran who cites the correct vets suicide number. “It’s actually 22.”
Latest VA number is 20. #CICForum
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) September 8, 2016
“Veterans groups noted numerous gaps in how that estimate was constructed. Most notably, the numbers were based on information from only about 20 states and did not contain full military records from the Defense Department,” Military Times said.
Earlier in the forum, Hillary Clinton used the correct figure.
In his answer, Trump said “it’s almost impossible to conceive that this is happening in our country. Twenty to 22 people a day killing themselves. A lot of it is, they’re killing themselves over the fact they can’t, they’re under tremendous pain.” He then went on to refer to the VA as a “corrupt” organization.
After the forum, Fredericks said Trump didn’t answer the question and seemed to take offense at his language.
“It seems to me like he wants to blame it on access and mental healthcare. And he kept saying ‘they need help, they need help.’ I think everyone in America needs some type of help, but yet again we’re gonna stigmatize the veterans who are suffering with mental health diseases or with PTSD?
“They need help? Do I think that to blame it on an access issue or to blame it on the lack of mental healthcare and especially to blame it on living with chronic pain, I don’t think really answers the question at hand of what he will do to stop it. I know many veterans especially in my organization, the Disabled American Veterans, who live with chronic pain every day. So I don’t think that’s the cause of the veteran suicides and it didn’t answer what we’re going to do to stop it.”
