Ex-CIA official slams Trump for using troops in Iraq as ‘props’ after years of trashing military figures

A former CIA intelligence officer and Obama administration aide slammed Donald Trump for using troops as "props" in his Christmas Iraq visit while spending so much of his time as president criticizing military families and leaders.

"If past is prologue," ex-CIA official Ned Price tweeted Wednesday, "Trump will use this belated troop visit to deflect from the rhetorical bodyslam [outgoing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis] delivered to him & his worldview last week."

"The record shows Trump has consistently used our military as a prop for his personal and political advantage," Price, an NBC analyst, added.

He went on to detail many of the times the president trashed military figures and families.

Even as a candidate, Price tweeted, Trump "took aim" at beloved figures when he jabbed at the late John McCain by claiming he likes people "who weren't captured" and got in a feud with the Khans, a Gold Star family who appeared at the Democratic National Convention.

Once he became president, "Trump authorized his first military mission not from the Situation Room, but over the dinner table, which also included Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon" the Obama administration alumnus noted.

"The raid resulted in the death of a US Navy SEAL, whose death he blamed on 'the generals,'" Price added.

Price brought up a number of Trump's other military missteps as well: from his failed response to the Niger ambush and his expensive (and ultimately scrapped) military parade to his decision to deploy troops to the US-Mexico border to meet the much-hyped "migrant caravan" and his attacks on storied Adm. Bill McRaven.

"This list is illustrative, not exhaustive, and more examples abound," the former CIA officer noted. "But suffice to say this is a president who has consistently put his own interests -- personal and political -- ahead of the country's, and that includes those of our service members."

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