President Trump praised U.S. service members separated from their families during the Thanksgiving holiday Thursday, and gave special thanks to military personnel stationed at the U.S. border.
“Today we thank God for the blessings of having you people be our heroes, and you really are our heroes,” Trump told members of all five military branches on a teleconference call placed from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. “And your families are back here, and they love you, and they respect you, and they look forward to seeing you because you are the ones who keep America safe, and strong, and free.”
“You are very much appreciated like you wouldn’t believe by the American public, by the citizens of our country,” the president added.
Trump took the opportunity to tout his border security measures and trade accomplishments, while also hinting at the possibility of an overseas trip to visit troops abroad.
“We’re fighting for borders. We’re fighting for our country. If we don’t have borders, we don’t have a country,” he said. “We got a lot of bad decisions from the 9th Circuit, which has become a big thorn in our side. We always lose, and then you lose again and again, and you hopefully win at the Supreme Court, which we have done. But it’s a terrible thing when judges take over your protective services, when they tell you how to protect your border. It’s a disgrace.”
A judge in California this week blocked Trump’s plan to prevent people from crossing into the U.S. to claim asylum, drawing more complaints from Trump about left-leaning judges that rule against his agenda.
Trump is additionally expected to visit members of the U.S. Coast Guard serving in Florida later Thursday.
