Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden on Friday slammed President Trump for downplaying the injuries that U.S. troops apparently suffered as a result of a recent Iranian missile attack in Iraq, saying Mr. Trump was essentially asking them to “grow up.”

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden on Friday slammed President Trump for downplaying the injuries that U.S. troops apparently suffered as a result of a recent Iranian missile attack in Iraq, saying Mr. Trump was essentially asking them to “grow up.”
“Just this week, he brushed off the injuries sustained by those brave troops who were on the other side of the Iranian bombardment and missile attack in Iraq from Iran,” Mr. Biden, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, said at a campaign event in New Hampshire.
“He said no, they just have headaches,” Mr. Biden said. “My words, not his: basically, why don’t you just grow up? They’re just old headaches.”
He said there are an estimated 300,000 people coming home from wars overseas suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The idea that [it’s] taken so lightly — I find it, quite frankly, disgusting,” Mr. Biden said.
The Pentagon said Friday that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of the Jan. 8 attack and that 17 of the 34 remained under medical observation.
Mr. Trump and defense officials had originally said there were no major injuries as a result of the attack, which was an apparent response for the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
“I heard that they had headaches and a couple of other things, but I would say, and I can report, it is not very serious,” the president told reporters earlier this week.
Sign up for Daily Newsletters
Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC.
Click
here for reprint permission.