On the recordSeptember 9, 2020
as I listen to my colleagues, I am honored every day to serve with them in the U.S. Senate. In 2018, in Minden, NV, I had the honor of commemorating the opening of the Moving Wall, which is a replica of the Vietnam war memorial that travels the country so the public can pay its respects to Vietnam veterans. I will always remember the stories that veterans and their families shared with me that day--stories of coming home from a divisive war to an equally divided public. The pain of that reception was still fresh for many of them decades later. America's servicemembers make an implicit pact with our country. They agree to put their lives on the line, and in exchange, they deserve our support, our care for them and their families, and our respect. Last week, The Atlantic magazine published a story in which anonymous sources claimed that Donald Trump doesn't demonstrate that respect. The article described a Commander in Chief who calls his own country's fallen soldiers ``losers'' and ``suckers.'' The story has fit a pattern from other anonymous sources over the years, some having described the President as lashing out at generals and calling them ``dopes'' and ``babies.'' Now, granted, these are from anonymous sources, so let's set them aside for just a moment. As the saying goes, journalism is the rough draft of history, and sometimes that rough draft gets things wrong. What do we know?…
