Republicans blast McDonald’s ‘tone-deaf’ Disneyland, VA comparison

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump used McDonald’s comments to remind voters that his likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, said in October that problems at the VA were “not widespread.”

Trump’s former rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, also weighed in over social media.

“Healthcare for our veterans is NOT a visit to the Magic Kingdom,” Cruz tweeted. “They EARNED quality care in a timely fashion!”

Sen. Rand Paul called McDonald’s comments “disgraceful.” Sen. David Vitter said the VA was “tone-deaf” on veteran care.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, highlighted the number of veterans who have died waiting for care at VA facilities around the country,

“Up to 307,000 veterans have reportedly died waiting for care due to corruption and mismanagement at the VA, so it is astonishing that VA Secretary Robert McDonald would suggest wait times don’t need to be measured,” Priebus said in a statement. “Drawing comparisons to lines at Disneyland is ludicrous and shows the leadership crisis at the VA is far from being solved.”

McDonald was responding to a question Monday at a breakfast with reporters about why the VA will won’t publish the average time a veteran has to wait from the day he or she calls and asks for an appointment, known as the “create date.”

The VA instead publishes its average wait times based on the “preferred date,” or the day a VA scheduler actually puts an appointment time on the books.

McDonald argued at the Christian Science Monitor event that the “create date” was not a “valid” measure of the VA’s success, and claimed a more accurate measure of the agency’s progress with veterans would come from gauging the overall enjoyment of their experience.

“The days to an appointment is really not what we should be measuring,” McDonald said. The VA secretary said a veteran’s “satisfaction” would be a more appropriate metric.

The VA has weathered controversy over the past several years for the long delays in health care veterans have faced at agency-run hospitals around the country.

Although VA officials at 110 facilities were found to have created fake patient waiting lists to cover up the health care delays, only three VA employees were ever fired for their involvement.

Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said Monday the wait time controversy is “precisely why McDonald is now VA secretary.” McDonald replaced ousted VA Secretary Eric Shinseki in October 2014.

“Unfortunately, nearly two years after McDonald took over at VA, the department’s wait-time rhetoric doesn’t match up with the reality of veterans’ experiences,” Miller said. “But given the fact that VA has successfully fired only a handful of employees for wait-time manipulation while letting the bulk of those behind its nationwide delays-in-care scandal off with no discipline or weak slaps on the wrist, I am not at all surprised these problems persist.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, noted the consequences veterans may face if they are forced to wait for medical care.

“For many veterans, the wait for care is a matter of life and death. It can’t be compared to a day at Disney World, and Secretary McDonald ought to know that,” Johnson said in a statement. “We owe our veterans, the finest among us, the best possible treatment and care. When veterans must wait so long for care that they risk dying of neglect, we are failing them. My committee will continue to work so that veterans do not have to suffer from the VA’s bureaucratic failures.”

Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House and a rumored contender for Trump’s vice presidential nominee, praised McDonald’s leadership overall but criticized the tone of his remarks.

“Bob McDonald…is now so surrounded by the bureaucracy that he suggested that waiting in line to get in a VA hospital was comparable to waiting in line at Disney for a ride,” Gingrich said during an appearance on CSPAN. “I mean, you have to get to a point where you wonder, ‘what were the conversations like that took a really smart businessman, West Point graduate, a guy I admire, and gets him to the point where he’s so totally lost touch with, you know, core reality?'”

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers, chair of the GOP House Conference, noted 18 percent of appointment cancellations at the VA go unfilled by other veterans who are waiting to see VA doctors.

“When you go to Disney, you aren’t wondering if you’re going to live long enough to make it to Space Mountain,” McMorris Rogers said. “You aren’t concerned for your health, your parents’ wellbeing, or your buddy’s safety. Our servicemen and women have died while waiting in lines.”

In a statement to Independent Journal Review, a spokesperson for Disney said McDonald’s comments were “factually untrue.”

“We take wait times very seriously,” the Disney spokesperson said. “We continually push the boundaries to give our guests the best experience possible. A large team of highly trained industrial engineers are tasked with improving our guest’s experiences, from transportation, to guest flow, to ride comfort and certainly wait times. One of the things we take great pride in is if you have a wait time at our parks, your wait is enjoyable.”

Veterans groups also denounced McDonald’s comments following widespread backlash over his reference to Disneyland.

The American Legion, a nonpartisan group, argued the VA should consider wait times an important metric of its success.

“The American Legion agrees that the VA Secretary’s analogy between Disneyland and VA wait times was an unfortunate comparison because people don’t die while waiting to go on Space Mountain,” said American Legion Commander Dale Barnett said. “We also disagree with the substance of his comment because wait times are very important to not just the satisfaction quotient, but in some cases the veterans health. All of VA needs to be exceptionally good, not just ‘on average.'”