Donald Trump spoke to veterans in Herndon, Va., and during a Q&A session Monday, the GOP nominee seemed to imply veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder are not strong because they face difficulties dealing with "horror stories" they have seen in combat, according to Politico.
An audience member asked Trump if he would address mental health issues veterans face. The Republican candidate responded, "When you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat — and they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over, and you're strong and you can handle it, but a lot of people can't handle it.
"And they see horror stories. They see events that you couldn't see in a movie. Nobody would believe it."
Trump said he frequently hears about veterans' issues as he tours the country and "it's one of the things that I think is least addressed. It's one of the things that I hear most about when I go around and talk to the veterans.
"We're going to have a very robust, very, very robust level of performance having to do with mental health," he added. "We're losing so many great people that could be taken care of if they had proper care," noting a report said 22 veterans commit suicide per day.
"That should never be. So we're going to be addressing that very strongly, and the whole mental health issue is going to be a very important issue when I take over. And the VA is going to be fixed in so many ways.
"But that's going to be one of the ways we're going to help, and that's in many respects going to be the No. 1 thing we have to do, because I think it's really been left behind."
Retired Gen. Michael Flynn said the media twisted Trump's words, saying, "The media continues to operate as the propaganda arm of Hillary Clinton as they continue to take Trump's words out of context in order to deceive voters and veterans — an appalling act that shows they are willing to go to any length to carry water for their candidate of choice."
Flynn said Trump respects veterans and "was highlighting the challenges veterans face when returning home after serving their country. He has always respected the service and sacrifice of our military men and women — proposing reforms to Veteran Affairs to adequately address the various issues veterans face when they return home."
Military Times reported in July that 20 veterans committed suicide per day in 2014, the latest year that research is available. Some 70 percent of those were not regular users of Veterans Affairs services, the report said.