Carolyn Kaster/AP
Over a year and a half into his tenure President Donald Trump has yet to visit American troops in a war-zone.
- President Donald Trump repeatedly portrays himself as a gung-ho supporter of the US military, but a year and a half into his tenure the president has yet to visit American troops in a war-zone.
- The vast majority of Trump's commander-in-chief predecessors dating all the way back to World War II have visited troops in war zones, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
- Both Bush and Obama met with US troops in combat zones soon into their first terms.
President Donald Trump repeatedly portrays himself as a gung-ho supporter of the US military, but over a year and a half into his tenure the president has yet to visit American troops in a war zone.
Since Trump took office, American troops have been killed everywhere from Somalia and Niger to Yemen and Iraq. In 2018 alone, five US soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.
But Trump has yet to visit Afghanistan, Iraq, or Syria, among other places where US troops are putting their lives on the line to execute his orders.
This is arguably out-of-step for a president who's filled his cabinet with generals, boasted about making the military stronger than ever, called for an expensive (and recently cancelled) military parade in the capital, and lambasted NFL players for allegedly disrespecting the troops by kneeling during the national anthem.
In short, Trump has often talked the talk when it comes to the military - barring controversial comments about Sen. John McCain's time as a POW in Vietnam as well as widely criticized attacks against Gold Star families - but will he walk the walk?
Trump's predecessors often visited US troops in war zones overseas
The vast majority of Trump's predecessors dating all the way back to World War II have visited troops in war zones, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And both Bush and Obama met with US troops in combat zones soon into their first terms.
Bush, for example, met with ground troops in Baghdad within 10 months of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. By the end of his time in office, Bush made four trips to Iraq and two to Afghanistan.
Comparatively, Obama visited troops in Iraq in 2008 while he was still a senator and made another visit within his first three months as president. Ultimately, Obama made four trips to Afghanistan as president.
Evan Vucci/AP
Former President Barack Obama shakes hands at a troop rally at Bagram Air Field, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, during an unannounced visit, on Sunday, May 25, 2014.
The war in Afghanistan is nearly 17 years old and there's no end in sight
Trump promised to ramp down America's involvement in the war on terror as a presidential candidate. But the realities of the presidency have thus far made it difficult for him to do so and he's even increased US troop presence in some cases. Last year, Trump sent several thousand more troops to Afghanistan, for example.
Presidential visits to troops stationed in harm's way boost morale. As the war in Afghanistan nears its 17th anniversary, the roughly 15,000 US troops Afghanistan especially could benefit from seeing the president at a time when many Americans have seemingly forgotten about the conflict.
Moreover, as commander-in-chief some might say Trump has a duty to visit those he orders into harm's way.
The White House did not immediately respond to a query from Business Insider as to whether the president had any plans to make such a trip sometime in the not-so-distant future.