During an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Sunday morning, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump was asked what his New Year’s resolution is for 2016.
“The big picture is to make America great again,” Trump said, “but we have to help the veterans. Veterans are being treated horribly.”
Trump referred to the VA scandal, and the problems at the latest revelations from the Phoenix clinic in particular.
CBS News reported Friday:
More than a year after we first learned of problems at the Phoenix VA Hospital — they still have not been fixed. A new government report describes long waits for veterans seeking treatment.
Whistleblowers charge the hospital is missing something essential: enough doctors.
Ground zero for the Veterans Affairs wait-time scandal was at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Hospital. A 2014 Inspector General report detailed how thousands of veterans across the country were put on secret waiting lists.
Whistleblower Dr. Sam Foote maintains that at least 40 veterans died in Phoenix since April 2013. He said more than two years later, the problems still aren’t fixed.
The report did not blame the wait times for the deaths, but it did call for changes in how the Phoenix VA schedules appointments.
“A band-aid has been put on this, and therefore everything’s okay? Everything’s not okay,” said Dr. Foote. “They still don’t have enough physicians and providers to provide medical care.”
Calling the Phoenix story “beyond-horrible news,” Trump said he’s the only candidate talking about the VA scandal and what he’s going to do to improve care for veterans.
“Every place I go veterans love me because I’m the only one, I bring it up all he time — the veterans in our country are being treated horribly, in many cases worse than illegal immigrants.”
“Fox & Friends” fill-in host Pete Hegseth, the CEO for Concerned Veterans for America, responded, “Mr. Trump, I’ve got to tell you, if I can get a New Year’s resolution from Mr. Trump for the veterans, we’ll take it, thank you very much.”
Trump has laid out a multi-pronged approach to improving care for veterans on his website.
“Politicians in Washington have tried to fix the VA by holding hearings and blindly throwing money at the problem. None of it has worked. In fact, wait times were 50% higher this summer than they were a year ago,” Trump’s plan reads in part.
“That’s because the VA lacks the right leadership and management. It’s time we stop trusting Washington politicians to fix the problems and empower our veterans to vote with their feet.”
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