Trump Expresses ‘Profound Thanks’ to Troops in Thanksgiving Call

President Donald Trump participates in a Thanksgiving teleconference with members of the military at the White House in Washington on Nov. 26, 2020. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump made a Thanksgiving Day call to members of the U.S. military, expressing his “profound thanks” to troops stationed abroad via video link from the White House.

As part of presidential tradition, Trump spent part of his Thanksgiving Day addressing members of the armed forces overseas. The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard each had a unit represented on the call with the president.

“I want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving. As president I want to extend my profound thanks to each and every one of you for your devoted service to our nation. Our nation is doing very well. It’s the highest honor of my life to serve as your commander in chief,” Trump said during the nearly 40-minute teleconference Thursday evening.

“Many of you are very far from home. But today, we hope you know that millions of American families are praying and gratitude [sic] for the sacrifices you make and the incredible, absolutely incredible job you do,” the president said.

Trump highlighted his administration’s increases in military spending in the last three and a half years, and the quality of the equipment which he said had been made in the United States.

“So that American families can sleep soundly at home, we’ve been building up our military. We spent $2.5 trillion in the last three and a half years. And we’ve never had anything like it in terms of equipment and all of the elements that we put together,” the president continued. “ Nobody thought we could ever get there. We’ve done it quickly.”

He also mentioned the recently launched military branch, the Space Force. In announcing its opening in August as a response to advances by China and Russia, Trump said it will “ensure that American dominance in space is never questioned and never threatened.”

The U.S. Space Command was created to strengthen the military’s focus on space operations, which includes launching satellites, providing communications, intelligence, missile warning, and navigation services, as well as counterspace operations.

The president in his Thanksgiving call also highlighted several of his administration’s achievements, including no new wars, advancing “peace through strength,” and the defeat of the ISIS terrorist caliphate on his watch.

Trump conveyed a message of hope amid the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, assuring that the country is “rounding the curve,” as COVID-19 vaccines are slated to be approved in the United States by mid-December.

Both Moderna and Pfizer recently announced that their test trials for the CCP virus vaccine were successful and have more than a 90 percent efficacy rate. The Trump administration on Nov. 12 struck a deal with pharmacies across the United States for them to help distribute the vaccine “as quickly as possible with no out-of-pocket costs.”

“We are rounding the curve. The vaccines are being delivered—literally it will start next week and the week after, and it will hit the frontline workers and seniors and doctors, nurses, a lot of people. And we’re going very quickly,” Trump said, describing the progress of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States a “medical miracle.”

Overseas troops this year received more than 250,000 pounds of Thanksgiving food from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Due to the ongoing pandemic, members of the U.S. military ate a “grab-and-go style takeout,” rather than gathering around a table as is Thanksgiving tradition, according to the Pentagon.

“I’m proud that our workforce is doing everything possible to make sure our warfighters get a proper holiday meal, especially since many of us will not be able to be with our family and friends,” Army Brig. Gen. Gavin Lawrence, of the DLA, said in a statement this week. “We want to make sure they get that taste of home no matter where they are in the world.”