While some pundits have praised President Donald Trump's recent speech to a joint session of Congress, in which he mentioned the death of Navy SEAL Chief William "Ryan" Owens, others have criticized Trump for using Owens' wife Carryn as a "political prop."
"Ryan's legacy is etched into eternity," Trump said on Tuesday, as cameras captured Carryn tearing up and mouthing the words, "I love you," while looking up to the heavens.
It was perhaps the most emotional moment of Trump's speech, and yet, also one of the most controversial, as a tweet from Brandon Friedman, a former Army officer who now runs a strategic communications firm, made clear.
"Media people in my feed viewed Trump's Navy SEAL moment very differently from the veterans," Friedman wrote, including a side-by-side view of journalists vs. veterans opinions on the matter.
Business Insider asked veterans for their thoughts on that moment, and many were happy to share their views (lightly edited for clarity), pro or con. But one thing became very clear: The opinions of veterans can vary greatly.
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If Trump won't take ownership of the decision that resulted in Owens' death, "then he lacks what is essential to be a commander-in-chief leading a nation in its longest running war," said a former Army intelligence analyst, who requested anonymity to avoid professional reprisal.
"I think that if Mrs. Owens left that speech with a bit of warmth in her heart and the genuine sentiments of a grateful nation then what political capital the President might have garnished by arranging such a moment is immaterial," the analyst said.
"It is immaterial because that capital is perishable, whereas that moment, that sentiment towards Mrs. Owens — there will be days when that might be what carries her through and that's something she clearly deserves.
As we evaluate how the President carries himself and represents the office, we are compelled to look a bit farther at how he has interacted and communicated with the father of our fallen brother," the soldier added, mentioning the father of Ryan Owens, who has said the Trump administration was "hiding behind" his son's death.
"If Trump can't eat a spoon of humble pie and do whatever he has to do to extend the olive branch to that man — then he has failed to represent the office of the President of the United States with the grace and honor that the office demands," the analyst said.
"President Trump gave the order which resulted in the death of that man's son. If he won't own that, then he lacks what is essential to be a commander-in-chief leading a nation in its longest running war."
Carryn Owens was used as a "political prop," said Francisco Miranda, a retired Army major who deployed three times to the Middle East.
"The buck stops at the president — the commander-in-chief," Miranda told Business Insider.
"He used Mrs. Owen as a political prop and it is disgusting. I lost my cousin (we grew up and joined the Army together), Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Rada Morales in 2008 and his widow still mourns his loss."
"Trump's words on Ryan moved me," said Eric Ober, a veteran of the Army who served for six years.
"Trump highlighted the night with acknowledging his legacy. Veterans by and large have felt that we have been used by the DC elite, and that what we have done only matters as much as it signals to the objectives and narratives of that elite," Ober told Business Insider.
"Yesterday was different. To me it was about bringing out the humanity in DC that we thought had died. We usually see D.C. as a cold and hardened machine. The media is at fault for that — we grow up hearing these talking heads on television, and they use a tone that is more machine than human. They craft perception. Yesterday's acknowledgement by Trump was sincere."
"There was a certain tinge of intimacy created between the President and Americans, in that speech ... I feel proud again."
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