President Trump embraced retired Army Capt. Luis Avila immediately after the wounded veteran finished a rendition of “God Bless America.”
Avila was wounded by a bomb in Afghanistan 2011 and now moves around in a motorized wheelchair. He sang on Monday at the ceremony to mark Army Gen. Mark Milley becoming the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a board of uniformed military heads that advise the president on national security.
The video shows Trump walking over after Avila finished singing and hugging the wounded veteran and his wife, Claudia Avila.
Nice moment at Joint Chiefs event just now as Trump gives a big hug to a wounded warrior who sang “God Bless America” pic.twitter.com/y1yiPfNERh
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) September 30, 2019
“Mark, I want to congratulate you,” Trump said during the ceremony. “You’re my friend. You’re my adviser and you deserve this position. I never had a doubt.”
Milley is replacing Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, who attended the ceremony and swore Milley into the new post.
During remarks, Trump said Dunford helped him decide to run for president. Trump sat with Dunford and his family at an awards ceremony in 2015. Trump said Dunford was one of the first people he asked if he should launch his presidential bid.
“He helped me form an opinion. He gave me a lot of informatio, and he has ever since. So, for that, I want to thank you and Ellyn, and I want to thank Patrick,” Trump said.
