Donald Trump said that soldiers with PTSD aren’t “strong,” and the internet is pissed

The entire internet is abuzz, as Donald Trump recently said something about veterans that upset a whole lot of people. During a question and answer session at the Retired American Warriors PAC, Trump was discussing the terrifying rates of suicide in the military and among veterans. As such, he shared his definition of PTSD, which set off a lot of fury.

According to BuzzFeed News, while discussing PTSD, Trump said,

“When people come back from war and combat and they see maybe what the people 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."

Many people have an issue with the fact that this appears to suggest that those who have PTSD are somehow less “strong” and capable of “handling” war and combat than people without PTSD, which only contributes to a culture of shaming those who have PTSD and blaming them for their own illness.

The internet was very, very pissed off.

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According to BuzzFeed News, Trump’s campaign sent them a statement from Lt. General Michael Flynn, saying,

"The media continues to operate as the propaganda arm of Hillary Clinton as they took Mr. 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. Mr. Trump 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."

Whether you think Trump’s words were taken out of context, one thing is for sure: having PTSD doesn’t make anyone weak. End of story.