‘Cadet Bone Spurs’ Goes Viral As Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, An Iraq War Hero, Slams President Trump

“Cadet Bone Spurs” is going viral after Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War hero, who lost two legs in the line of duty, slammed the “draft dodging” Donald Trump for trying to lecture others about how to properly support the military.

Duckworth spoke out against Trump as the president was trying to blame Democrats for causing the government shutdown that started at midnight on Saturday. Trump has tried to claim — falsely, as the Washington Post pointed out — that Democrats are harming the military with the shutdown, though the military will continue to function throughout the shutdown, albeit without pay.

While Trump has tried to blame Democrats, many others note that Trump sold himself as a master deal maker, but failed to broker any kind of agreement between Republicans and Democrats, and that he previously claimed the president is responsible for any shutdown when one occurred under Barack Obama in 2013.

Tammy Duckworth, a Senator from Illinois, did not entertain Trump’s criticism lightly. She took to the senate floor on Saturday to deliver a scathing attack on Trump, including the five deferrals he received from serving in Vietnam. Trump claimed that he had bone spurs that prevented him from serving in the military.

“I spent my entire adult life looking out for the well-being, the training, the equipping of the troops for whom I was responsible,” she said, via The Hill. “Sadly, this is something that the current occupant of the Oval Office does not seem to care to do — and I will not be lectured about what our military needs by a five-deferment draft dodger.”

“And I have a message for cadet bone spurs: If you cared about our military, you’d stop baiting Kim Jong Un into a war that could put 85,000 American troops, and millions of innocent civilians, in danger.”

“Cadet Bone Spurs Trump” is PERFECT. https://t.co/2WRgNhLchT

— Markos Moulitsas (@markos) January 21, 2018

Tammy Duckworth added that Trump is making a poor show of leadership for the service members in harm’s way, and that his short-term plans for military funding were deemed by the Pentagon to be harmful to the military and to national security.

I will not be lectured about what our military needs by a five-deferment draft dodger. https://t.co/gR3EbhGxBs

— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) January 21, 2018

The “Cadet Bone Spurs” nickname comes just days after a report claimed that Trump had, in private conversations, talked about how a terrorist attack in the United States could help Republicans win the 2018 midterm elections, with some reports noting he took an almost hopeful tone about the thought of an attack.

The Cadet Bone Spurs slam against Donald Trump went viral almost immediately on Saturday, with many echoing the criticism. Some noted that it was a particularly appropriate slam against Trump, who has a tendency to come up with derogatory nicknames for his opponents.