Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has already made phone calls on behalf of U.S. Army First Sgt. Todd Landen (Ret.), a wounded veteran who spoke to Trump Tuesday night at a Sioux City, Iowa rally about problems he was having with the Veterans Administration.
Donald Trump speaks with Todd Landen and family at Sioux City rally, image from YouTube via The Blaze.
Daniel Scavino, Jr., Senior Advisor to the Trump campaign, posted to Twitter Wednesday afternoon that Trump had kept his word to intervene with the VA on Landen’s behalf.
.@realDonaldTrump met w/ a #Veteran in Iowa last night. He is following up on his commitment. Calls made. #Trump2016 https://t.co/53g4qlxXy3
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) October 28, 2015
“.@realDonaldTrump met w/ a #Veteran in Iowa last night. He is following up on his commitment. Calls made. #Trump2016”
The tweet contains a Vine clip of Trump speaking to Landen at the rally promising “to put pressure on the VA like you won’t believe.” Also included in the tweet is a photo of a Purple Heart certificate awarded to Landen.
Landed, his wife April and daughter Brianna attended the Trump rally. In one of the more moving moments of the rally, Trump left the stage to personally interact with Landen face-to-face when it came his turn to ask Trump a question.
CNN was apparently the only news outlet to interview Landen after the rally, according to a Google News search. CNN’s story is excerpted below.
“Landen, who served three tours overseas, was wounded from an IED attack in Iraq, he told CNN in an interview after the rally. Along with his wife, April, and their 8-year-old daughter, Brianna, he moved to Iowa last year, after Landen finished up surgeries and retired from the Army.
“Trump told Landen as president, he would allow veterans to get health care locally by private doctors.
“Afterwards, the Landens said the interaction was unexpected, but one that brought them hope.
“”He has traumatic brain injury, severe PTSD, and has had 21 surgeries on his chest and back,” April Landen, who is his full time caretaker, told CNN.
“Todd Landen said the VA system is rife with problems.
“”It’s mass care. They’re just shuffling us out and crunching numbers, I think,” he said. “The real struggle is what insurance do I use. I’m 100% disabled, the VA is supposed to take care of my medical bills, but I have to go to a hospital 100 miles away.”
“Neither Landen or his wife have caucused in Iowa before, but said they plan on turning out to support Trump on February 1, no matter what.
“”Every time I’ve seen Donald Trump, he’s mentioned veterans,” Todd said. “I haven’t seen that from every candidate. And today I sure didn’t expect him to come recognize me in front of the crowd.”
“When asked what he would like Donald Trump as president, Landen said, “Put me back in the fight.”
“”It wasn’t my choice to leave — I didn’t leave on my terms,” he said. “But when he gets elected, I hope he will drop the hammer on the enemy, get us out of there, and take care of us afterwards.””
A video from 2012 shows Landen with his wife and daughter being honored at the annual Southeast Electronic Flight Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oUGRWp2U14
