Letter to the editor: Trump cuts hurt veterans

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 10.09.25

On Sept. 29, a gunman firing from a boat on the ICW in Brunswick County murdered three and wounded eight at a packed waterfront bar in Southport. The next morning, another gunman murdered four and injured eight at a Mormon church in Michigan. Both suspects were 40-year-old Marine veterans who served in Iraq and at NC’s Camp Lejeune.

Dr. Harold Kudler, a retired Veterans’ Administration (VA) specialist in Durham, NC said, “A lot of people worry that veterans are coming back from war, broken or ticking time bombs.” That’s why, just a week earlier, 170 doctors, psychologists and medical professionals expressed their “urgent concern” that Trump’s cuts to VA healthcare will “negatively affect the lives of all veterans.” They warned that “facilities may be forced to close, and veterans may be forced into costlier, often overburdened community health systems ill-equipped to meet their specialized needs.” VoteVets said, “It’s a slap in the face to all who have worn the uniform in defense of our nation.”

The VA has 66,000 vacancies and staffing shortages at 137 of 139 VA facilities. Trump cut 83,000 VA jobs, slashed Biden’s $369 billion investment in VA services and canceled 585 VA contracts. Trump even cut the VA’s suicide prevention hotline, despite the fact that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for veterans under 45. Trump’s cuts strip Medicaid coverage from 200,000 veterans and food stamps from 1.2 million more.

Because federal law gives veterans a hiring preference, nearly 30% of federal workers are veterans, 53% of whom are disabled. It’s a national disgrace that Trump’s layoffs hurt 637,000 veterans.

Ironically, Trump’s cuts hurt Trump supporters especially hard. Most veterans voted for Trump. The Mormon Church shooter had a Trump sign in his yard and wore a “Trump 2020/Make Liberals Cry Again” shirt.

Trump shut down the government to save his obscene tax cuts for billionaires rather than work with Democrats to save veterans’ healthcare.

Vince Amoroso

Sunset Beach