A United States veteran who was wounded in action called out people who used his image in social media platforms in what he believes is a political ploy by the Democrats to stain the image of US President Donald Trump.
During an interview, the war veteran who served four tours in Iraq, identified as Bobby Henline, expressed irritation on how his photo was used in the articles. He stated that the stories made it look like the president called him a loser.
Moreover, Henline stated that it is not fair to him that he is being used by a certain group for as props for their political agenda.
Henline's statement came after The Atlantic published a story last week citing anonymous sources who claimed that Trump dubbed fallen soldiers and war veterans as "suckers" and "losers" way back 2018.
Being the only survivor out of the five soldiers during an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Iraq, Henline has not put his time into spreading positivity through speaking out on the issues of being a veteran. It was only until last week that he was informed of how his image was used in memes targeting the president and has been widely shared by social media groups whose political interests are inclined left.
A 'prop' for political propaganda
After knowing this, Henline immediately posted on Instagram and called out those who used him for their political propaganda.
View this post on Instagram#greenscreen damn it people! Stop using my image. President Trump let’s do lunch. #trump2020 A post shared by Bobby Henline (@bobby_henline) on Sep 7, 2020 at 4:33am PDT
The war veteran has never made any comment on the story published by The Atlantic, nor on the alleged remarks of the president about the veterans. However, he expressed outrage about the fact that he is being used as a tool to help the Democrats ruin the image of Trump just to push for Joe Biden's election.
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In an interview with Fox, Henline urged the supporters of the Democratic Party to continue their campaign using facts, emphasizing that the problem begins when there is a need to malign the opponent instead of winning through their own merits.
On the original story that was published by the news outlet, it was stated that four anonymous sources claimed that they had firsthand information on the alleged comments by the president. However, after the publication of the story, several people also stepped forward and claimed that they were present during the said conversation.
One of those who placed himself in the room was John Bolton, the former U.S. National Security Adviser. Bolton stated that the president never made the said remarks disparaging the war veterans.
War Veteran Believes Story was Fabricated
Meanwhile, Henline has also stated that he does not believe that Trump made such remarks. He also pointed out the sources were anonymous, while others who revealed their identities are not necessarily in good terms with Trump. He believes that people simply made up the rumors to discredit the president.
However, despite the skepticism that was expressed by people on the truthfulness of the claims, Henline stated that it has succeeded in turning the war veterans, soldiers, and their families against Trump.
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