On Sunday, Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry appeared on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” where he discussed Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was escorted out of the White House on Friday.
Petry defended President Donald Trump’s actions and laid into Vindman for putting himself before those he was fighting alongside, calling the impeachment witness a likely “chow thief” and a “spotlighter.”
“I respect Donald Trump’s actions on escorting [Vindman] out of the White House, because he, as a team player, he should have brought it up through the chain of command, and then blown the whistle if it didn’t get approved,” Perry told “Fox & Friends” on Sunday.
“I respect his service and I understand he’s a Purple Heart recipient, but being a Purple Heart recipient doesn’t make somebody a hero,” he noted.
Petry continued regarding Vindman, claiming he was dubbed a “chow thief” back at Ranger School and heard he “couldn’t be trusted.”
“They tried peering him out,” claimed Petry.
“Usually, folks that tried to make a big statue of something are what we call spotlighters in the military,” he added. “Trying to highlight themselves as a hero, or doing something great, and you could do something great just doing your job.”
“Fox & Friends” weekend co-host Pete Hegseth offered to “translate” Petry’s comments regarding Vindman:
“Chow thief” meaning when there’s limited food, you’re taking some so that you can have some and your buddies don’t. “Spotlight ranger” is someone who, when the spotlight’s on, you do a great job; when it’s not, you’re not necessarily helping your buddies. And to be “peered out” means your fellow peers are voting against you to graduate from that particular school. I’ve also heard his political allegiance; he always wore it openly. Like, we all are allowed to have political views, but he’s been a left-winger his entire career, and now the president has a prerogative to get rid of him.
Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia added some commentary on Vindman, too.
On Sunday, taking to Instagram to encourage folks to watch Petry’s “Fox & Friends” appearance, Bellavia said Vindman is seen as one of two things:
Vindman is a very controversial guy, depending on your politics; you either love him or you hate him. Joe Biden gave him a standing ovation. Some people see him as just an emotional kid who just is so partisan and blinded by his politics that he jumped the chain of command and was blinded by being a part of history and politics are more important than his oath.
Bellavia, between intermittent fits of laughter, then joked about Petry choosing to hit Vindman on the “chow thief” claims.
“Vindman was a chow thief,” Bellavia says, letting out a fit of laughter. “Leroy is so old school that that alone should have taken [Vindman’s] security clearance away. In Leroy Perty’s mind, being a chow thief is the unforgivable sin.”
“That is Leroy, and that’s why he needs to be on TV more,” Bellavia added, noting that Petry was “dead serious.”
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