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US Veterans Group Wants Trump Apology for Brain Injury Comment


FILE - Audience members listen as President Donald Trump speaks during the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States National Convention, July 24, 2018, in Kansas City, Mo.
FILE - Audience members listen as President Donald Trump speaks during the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States National Convention, July 24, 2018, in Kansas City, Mo.

A U.S. veterans group is "expecting" an apology from President Donald Trump for his comments that downplayed traumatic brain injuries, an official said.

Speaking in Davos on Wednesday, Trump said he did not consider the brain injuries suffered by U.S. service members in Iran's recent attack on a base in Iraq as serious.

But the Veterans of Foreign Wars "expects an apology from the president to our service men and women for his misguided remarks," William Schmitz, VFW national commander, said in a statement Friday.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Earlier on Friday the Pentagon said 34 service members had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury following missile strikes by Iran on a base in Iraq, a number higher than the military previously announced.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, a group with 1.6 million members, said traumatic brain injury (TBI) cannot be taken lightly. "TBI is known to cause depression, memory loss, severe headaches, dizziness and fatigue — all injuries that come with both short- and long-term effects," the group said.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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