I’m a disabled Vietnam vet. Trump is screwing me over.

I’m speaking up for the veterans who can’t.

I served in Vietnam with the 5th of the 42nd Artillery, II Field Force. When I was there, like many of my brothers in the service, I was exposed to Agent Orange. For those unaware, Agent Orange was an herbicide we used in Vietnam to clear out the dense foliage. It contained dioxin, a toxic chemical that has impacted the lives of millions of veterans. As a result, I am now considered a disabled veteran. I have relied on the services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) throughout my civilian life, and they have been crucial in keeping vets like me alive. The VA has been crucial in maintaining my sanity and what's left of my health. But the cuts Donald Trump is making to the VA and other agencies are putting all that at risk, jeopardizing the lives of people like me. It’s a cold slap in the face to all veterans who put their lives on the line for freedom, and expected that their country would take care of them in return.

Donald Trump loves to talk big about how great he is for veterans, despite calling those who died in war “suckers” and “losers” and asking, of fallen service members, “what was in it for them?” He said during his first term that he “believes that our veterans deserve the best healthcare in the world,” and recently said, “We take good care of our veterans,” in response to a question asking how many veterans his administration has fired. Here’s the reality: Donald Trump is the biggest threat to veterans alive today. Trump and Elon Musk took a chainsaw to the VA earlier this year; as a result, they fired over 2,000 employees, including hundreds of veterans working there. And leaked documents reveal that DOGE is planning to fire more than 80,000 VA workers in total. That’s almost 20 percent of the agency’s workforce.

That means there will be fewer nurses, psychiatrists, doctors—hell, even janitors and sanitary workers who help keep veterans’ facilities clean and livable. Trump and Musk say they’re doing this in the name of “efficiency,” but does decreasing the workforce and increasing the wait times make the VA more efficient in any way?

Don’t get me wrong: The VA was flawed for a long time. But our government was actively taking steps to improve it—until Trump took office. During the Biden administration, the PACT Act was passed, which increased staffing and expanded VA healthcare and benefits for millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins during their service, like I was. That’s all gone now. In just five months, Donald Trump wiped out years of progress at the VA.

But that’s not even the worst part. The federal workers whom the VA fired include personnel from the Veterans Crisis Line, a 24/7 hotline for service members who need emergency mental health support. To someone like Trump, who never served and called avoiding STDs his “personal Vietnam,” that might not seem like a big deal. But decreasing the number of employees available to help veterans in crisis is literally a life-or-death issue. Increasing the wait times on a suicide hotline could be the difference between one of our nation’s heroes living or dying. 

Take it from me. I’ve used the hotline before. I know how important it is. 

It gets worse. This administration also canceled billions in cancer research for the VA, meaning veterans waiting on breakthrough treatments will lose access to potentially lifesaving care. This kind of research pays for itself 10 times over in saved lives. And even if it didn’t, it would still be the right thing to do for America’s veterans. Trump, Musk, and their cronies don’t seem to have considered any of this in their rush to cut services—and even if they did, I doubt they would care.

I served in the war that Trump dodged on account of his “bone spurs.” I put my life on the line while Trump and his rich buddies paraded around Manhattan, trying to avoid STDs. And now, to save a little money—so the government can give more tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy and jack up the debt—Trump has decided it’s fine for veterans to deal with the consequences.

Veterans like me deserve better than Trump.

Ronn Easton is a Vietnam veteran and a participant in the Home of the Brave campaign.