The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump spent Veterans Day, November 11, 2023, at Stevens High School in Claremont, New Hampshire, for a scheduled campaign appearance his team had promoted in advance. In the speech, he said he would “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country,” language that quickly drew attention for its dehumanizing tone and its place in a rally-style political attack.

The remark was not an offhand aside. It came as part of a broader passage in which Trump cast his opponents as enemies to be removed rather than rivals to be beaten. That wording helped turn a Veterans Day campaign stop into another flashpoint over the kind of language he uses when describing political adversaries.

The timing sharpened the reaction. Veterans Day is set aside to honor military service, and Trump’s appearance combined that holiday setting with a message built around grievance, exclusion and confrontation. Critics focused on the “vermin” phrasing as the clearest example of the speech’s dehumanizing edge, while supporters treated it as consistent with the blunt style that has long defined his rallies.

Trump’s campaign also posted a separate Veterans Day message thanking service members and praising their sacrifice. The contrast between that public statement and the Claremont remarks underscored how he often uses national holidays for two different purposes at once: ceremonial recognition on one feed, political combat on the other.