Trump Complains, Boasts to US Troops

President Trump used a Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade, and migrants heading to the US-Mexico border, reports the AP. Trump's call, made Thursday from his Mar-a-Lago club, struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays. "You really are our heroes," he said at one point, as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. "It's a disgrace," Trump added of judges who have blocked his attempts to overhaul US immigration law, as he linked his efforts to secure the border with military missions overseas. "I don't have to even ask you. I know what you want to do, you want to make sure that you know who we're letting in," the president told one Air Force brigadier general at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

Throughout, Trump congratulated himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch. Indeed, when asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, Trump cited his "great family," as well as himself. "I made a tremendous difference in this country," he said. Trump later traveled to a nearby Coast Guard station, where he delivered a lunch of plastic-wrapped sandwiches, fruit and chips before spending some time at one of his golf courses. He and his family capped the day with several hundred dues-paying members and their guests at a Thanksgiving feast in Mar-a-Lago's opulent ballroom that included the usual fixings, along with chilled seafood, Chilean sea bass, and braised short ribs. (Trump on Thursday also threatened to close the whole border with Mexico.)