Democrats and other folks on the left have been imploding over the removal of Alexander Vindman from the NSC, calling it “retribution” for his testimony during the impeachment trial and painting Vindman as a military hero.
But Medal of Honor recipient Master Sergeant Leroy Petry said on Fox and Friends that Joe Biden calling for giving for a cheer for Vindman and saying he should have received the Medal of Freedom instead of Rush Limbaugh was “ridiculous.” Petry also defended the decision by President Donald Trump.
From Daily Caller:
“I respect Donald Trump’s actions on escorting him out of the White House because he, as a team player, he should have brought it up through the chain of command and then blown the whistle if it didn’t get approved,” Petry began. “So, exactly my insight is, I would fired him too, I can’t trust you on my team, if you can’t bring me things you don’t agree with.”
As the testimony of Tim Morrison revealed, he and other people had issues with Vindman’s judgement and there were concerns about leaking.
Tim Morrison testified he had issues with #Vindman.
— Peyton Rodgers©® (@PeytonRodgers18) February 8, 2020
Watch the videos in the thread. pic.twitter.com/AD6Kg6dsij
Petry also disputed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others terming him a hero, noting that while he respected Vindman’s service, that being a Purple Heart recipient doesn’t necessarily make somebody a hero.
Folks on the NSC serve at the pleasure at the president, Fox’s Pete Hegseth pointed out. Vindman was not actually “fired” per se, more exactly he was reassigned to another position at the Pentagon. You don’t have a right to advise the president and the president has a right to choose advisers on which he can rely.
Petry filled in some background on Vindman, he wasn’t quite as he was being painted.
Petry went on to explain that Vindman, according to friends who had been with the lieutenant colonel in Ranger School, had referred to him as a “chow thief” and had not thought highly of him even then. “In ranger school, [they] said he couldn’t be trusted. They tried peering him out. They said, ‘Well, I guess it hasn’t changed much.’ Usually folks that try to make a big statue of something, what we call spotlighters in the military, trying to highlight themselves as a hero or doing something great. and you could do something great just doing your job.”
Hegseth jumped back in then to “translate” some of the military jargon Petry had used to describe Vindman, saying, “Chow thief, meaning that when there is limited food, you’re taking some so you can have some and your buddies don’t. Spotlight ranger is someone who, when the spotlight is on, you do a great job when spotlight is off, you’re not necessarily helping your buddies. And peered out means your fellow peers are voting against you to graduate from that particular school.”