U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with the media in the Oval Office, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 5, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
President Donald Trump triggered outrage on Friday during a signing of his executive order to rebrand the Department of Defense to the "Department of War," when he suggested the United States only loses wars due to "woke" cultural values.
"We should have won every war," said Trump. "We could have won every war, but we really chose to be a very politically correct—wokey. We never wanted to win."
Commenters on social media tore into the president, with many noting that he used a questionable medical diagnosis to get out of serving in Vietnam, one of the wars America did actually lose.
"This is, even for him, amazingly stupid and an insult to the thousands who died in Korea and Vietnam and the other conflicts we were too 'wokey' to win," wrote retired Naval War College professor Tom Nichols. "But then, can't expect any better from a man who thinks American war dead are 'suckers' and 'losers.'"
"Remember when he dodged the draft because of ... bone spurs?" wrote former MSNBC host and Zeteo News founder Mehdi Hasan.
"Yeah, Vietnam, a war famously lost because we were Too Woke," wrote American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick.
"President who avoided combat because of 'bone spurs' and calls those who served suckers and losers has thoughts about war," wrote Huffington Post political correspondent S.V. Dáte.
"He would have called ending slavery woke," wrote Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, city councilman Tony Heyl.
"Not only is this an asinine thing to say, it’s also insulting. Nothing like an armchair quarterback, eh?" wrote the official account for The Seneca Project.
"I would love to hear what was 'wokey' to Trump about the loss in the Vietnam War. Too few bone spurs?" wrote University of North Georgia rhetoric professor Matthew Boedy.
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