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U.S. NEWS A3
Friday 24 November 2017
On Thanksgiving, Trump credits troops for military advances
By JILL COLVIN called asking.
Associated Press
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — “They said, ‘Well, it wins ev-
President Donald Trump
thanked U.S. troops for their ery time because the en-
service on Thursday, as-
suring them “we’re really emy cannot see it, even if
winning” against Ameri-
ca’s foes as he celebrated it’s right next to it,’” Trump
Thanksgiving at his private
club in Florida and provid- recounted, prompting
ed lunch for Coast Guard
men and women on duty laughs.
for the holiday.
Using the occasion to The F-35, plagued by de-
pat himself on the back,
Trump told deployed mili- velopment problems and
tary members via a video
conference that they’ve cost overruns, is in fact not
achieved more progress in
Afghanistan and against invisible to people nearby.
the Islamic State group
under his watch than had Its stealth technology is de-
been made in years of the
previous administration. signed to evade detection
“Everybody’s talking about
the progress you’ve made by radar and other sensors.
in the last few months since
I opened it up,” he told the At the earlier video confer-
1st Brigade Combat Team
of the 82nd Airborne Divi- ence, Trump cleared the
sion, whose members are
conducting operations in room of press after about
Kandahar, Afghanistan.
“We’re being talked about 10 minutes so he could
again as an armed forces
— we’re really winning.” have “very confidential,
Speaking from a gilded
room at his Mar-a-Lago personal conversations”
club, Trump said: “We’re
not fighting anymore to just with those on the line. Bor-
walk around, we’re fight-
ing to win, and you people rowing a line from his “Ap-
are really, you’ve turned it
around over the last three President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, speaks to members of the U.S. Coast Guard prentice” days, he told the
to four months like no- at the Lake Worth Inlet Station, on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2017, in Riviera Beach, Fla.
body’s seen, and they are reporters “You’re fired,”
talking about it, so thank (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
you very much.” then wished them a happy
Turning to the 74th Expedi-
tionary Fighters Squadron lations and boost military like I watch on the movies ... how good is it?” he re- Thanksgiving, too.q
based at the Incirlik Air Base spending.
in Turkey, Trump suggested “So you’re fighting for some-
the Obama administration thing real, you’re fighting
hadn’t allowed soldiers on for something good,” he
the ground to do their jobs. told the service members
“They say we’ve made Trump and his wife, Mela-
more progress against ISIS nia, also made a trip to a
than they did in years of nearby Coast Guard sta-
the previous administra- tion in Riviera Beach, Flori-
tion,” he said. “And that’s da, where they delivered a
because I’m letting you do lunch of turkey sandwich-
your job.” es, giant muffins, heaping
Throughout the day — at baskets of fruit, chips and
events and on Twitter — cookies to men and wom-
Trump boasted about the en on duty for the holidays.
economy’s performance During his remarks, Trump,
since he took office, point- singled out the service for
ing to recent stock market its hurricane relief efforts
gains and the unemploy- during Harvey and the oth-
ment rate, along with his er storms that battered the
efforts to scale back regu- country earlier this year.
“There’s no brand that
went up more than the
Coast Guard,” Trump told
them “What a job you’ve
done.”
Trump praised the superi-
ority of U.S. military equip-
ment, too, yet said he tries
to make sure that equip-
ment the U.S. sells abroad
— even to allies — is not
quite as good as that kept
at home.
“I always say, make ours a
little bit better,” Trump said.
“Keep about 10 percent in
the bag.” He added: “You
never know about an ally.
An ally can turn.”
Among the equipment ad-
mired by Trump is the F-35
stealth fighter jet, which he
recalled asking “Air Force
guys” about once.
“In a fight, you know a fight
