President Trump toured the USS Gerald Ford on Thursday to talk to sailors about building a bigger Navy fleet.
But Trump’s speech isn’t what dominated the headlines. Instead, it was the military jacket and admiral’s cap he was wearing.
Trump, who has received harsh criticism in the past for not fighting in the Vietnam War, got bludgeoned for his choice of outfit:
Trump looks absolutely ridiculous in a military hat and jacket. This is some comedy! bahahahahhahahaha Im embarrassed for the draft dodger.
— IMPEACH OrangeJulius (@puppymnkey) March 2, 2017
Draft Dodging Trump has the AUDACITY to wear a military jacket and hat … #NotMyPresident
— Willie Lee Davis (@WLD01) March 2, 2017
As a vet, I am appalled to see draft-evading #trump donning a military cap & jacket on a naval aircraft carrier!Insult to navy seal who died
— K bris (@kbris) March 2, 2017
Then, MSNBC’s Joy Reid, who has over 500,000 Twitter followers, claimed Trump was playing dress-up:
Trump – who got five deferments from Vietnam — is currently cosplaying as a military man, complete with hat and jacket.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) March 2, 2017
But there’s a big detail his critics are missing. First off, according to the Detroit Free Press, the cap and jacket were custom-made for Trump and given to the president by the crew on the ship.
And while Trump’s jacket is a bit more personalized, what’s even more revealing is how many ex-presidents have worn the military jacket.
Barack Obama.
When the Huffington Post noted him wearing the jacket, the writer said it reminded her of the movie “Top Gun.”
George W. Bush, who served in the Texas Air National Guard.
And Bill Clinton, who during the Vietnam War, looked for ways to avoid the draft.
A 1992 article from the New York Times sheds more light on the jacket:
Supplied by the Air Force, this ultimate symbol of Washington status is available to only the most select clientele: Presidents. It is generally worn on Air Force One, the President’s aircraft, where the chief executive slips it over his dress shirt and telegenic tie for that relaxed-but-still-in-command look.
Presidents (like John F. Kennedy) have worn a similar windbreaker on their yachts or at Camp David, the official retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. But that’s the Naval Presidential Windbreaker, not the Air Force Presidential Windbreaker, since Camp David is run by the Navy. FASHION: Cut and style can vary, explained Sgt. James Guthrie, a harried Air Force public relations officer, and some Presidents have altered the windbreaker a little. “He’s the Commander in Chief,” Sergeant Guthrie said. “Who’s going to tell him no?”
An Army man, Dwight D. Eisenhower, was the first President known to have an Air Force One Windbreaker.
Before some people jump all over the president for his coat, they should take a good look at the long list of ex-presidents who have worn it. In this case, the backlash for carrying on a decades-old tradition is clearly misplaced.
