Sergeant Phillip J. Freund of the United States Army, was an American soldier and prisoner of war who fought Nazi forces in World War Two. He was captured and sent to a POW camp in Brandenburg, Prussia where he endured severe torture and forced malnourishment. Lieutenant Colonel John J. Hedlund of the United States Air Force also fought Nazi forces and was captured in 1944, and taken to a POW camp in Moosburg, Germany. What do these men have in common? Well, other than the fact that they were both prisoners in the same conflict, they were both beloved members of my family who served their country dutifully. They are some of my greatest personal inspirations and I believe they are true heroes for their service. President Trump seems to disagree. On July 18th, 2015, Donald Trump let his massive ego and ruthless personal rhetoric take a hold of him – as many Americans have seen throughout the last 10 years of his political presence – at a summit in Iowa. Among various talking points, the then-candidate Trump focused on his long time feud with Senator John McCain, who had been a POW in the Vietnam War. Mccain was subjected to extreme torture in one of the most infamous and brutal POW camps in the conflict, The Hỏa Lò Prison, known universally to all American prisoners as the “Hanoi Hilton”. Trump stated “He’s not a war hero, he was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”. This insulting rebuttal rightfully disturbed many. McCain’s service was not only special for the price he paid, but also his circumstances prior. His father and grandfather were the first 4-star father and son Admirals in the United States Navy. With this legacy, this meant that McCain, who did not get drafted and instead volunteered for service, could have easily avoided service. He chose instead to put his life on the line for his country. After he was elected President of The United States, Trump allegedly took another advantage to tarnish some of the nation’s greatest heroes, this time in 2018, near the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France. Aisne-Marne commemorates fallen soldiers and MIAs of World War One, housing 2,289 American graves. Trump was scheduled to visit the cemetery with US military officials, and canceled the visit under the pretense of rain. Reports from Trump’s own staff reveal that he reportedly made disparaging remarks regarding the fallen, referring to the dead as “suckers” and saying that the cemetery was “filled with losers”. What makes this highly substantiated (yet officially unconfirmed allegation) have weight to it, is that Trump is reported to have used this same language to refer to other veterans. Notably, hee used the same language against Former President George H.W. Bush, who was shot down in the Pacific Ocean by Japanese forces in 1944, while flying a combat mission. Trump reportedly called Bush a “loser” for getting shot down. He also visited Arlington National Cemetery in 2017 with then-Chief of Staff, John Kelly, whose son was killed in action in 2010 during the Afghanistan War. According to Kelly, Trump remarked “I don’t get it. What was in it for them”, referring to the fallen soldiers at Arlington. Funnily enough, Donald Trump and his family have historically avoided military service across multiple continents. His grandfather Friederich fled from Bavaria, Germany in 1885 and had not yet fulfilled his mandatory military service. After he built a successful business in New York City, Friederich wished to return to Bavaria, but because of his failure to serve or deregister from Bavaria’s draft, he was permanently banished from the then-Kingdom of Bavaria in 1905. Donald Trump himself is also a notorious draft dodger, which was cited by mainstream media and politicians during his 2016 campaign. During the Vietnam War, Trump received 5 military deferments. From 1964-1968, Trump was given four deferments, which were regarding his education at Fordham University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A final deferment was given to him in September of 1968, citing bone spurs. It is important to note that in his 2019 testimony, Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, testified that Trump privately admitted to the deferment being illegitimate and untruthful, stating: “Mr. Trump claimed [his medical deferment] was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery.” Cohen continues, saying, “He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment.” Most striking of all, Cohen claims that Trump finished the conversation with the following comment: “You think I’m stupid, I wasn’t going to Vietnam.” Interesting to note is that the podiatrist who signed off on Trump’s deferment, Dr. Larry Braunstein, rented his office from Fred Trump. His two daughters allege that their father’s signing off on the deferment was a “favor” to Fred Trump. President Trump is most certainly guilty of a disgusting, abhorrent history of name calling and disrespect directed towards our nation’s finest heroes. He is someone who not only delegitimizes the suffering and death that our nation’s soldiers endured, but someone who causes immense emotional distress for POW, MIA, and KIA families all across the United States. Families like mine. To answer his bleak, unintelligent question of “what’s in it for them?”: freedom and peace for the world. That’s what was in it for them, President Trump. My great-grandfather, Phillip, and my great-uncle, Jon, were just two of millions. Millions of young, brave, intelligent, and bright men who understood exactly what was in it for them. They knew they were fighting to keep their country and its people safe, and far from the reach of the Axis Powers and their conquest in the name of tyranny. While my family members did not even pay the ultimate price of laying one’s life down for their country – unlike many of their fellow soldiers –
By Theodore Maher
Social Security and Medicare are projected to be incapable of fully funding benefits by 2032 and 2033. At the same time, the American population is aging rapidly with a shrinking working-age tax base. This is the result of declining fertility rates since the baby boomer generation, meaning more of today’s beneficiaries live off money from taxpayers despite raising fewer children than previous generations. Tying the benefit levels of these programs to the number of children an adult has raised in their lifetime would lower the program’s deficits. Additionally, it would give parents a return on investment for the enormous fortune it costs to raise their children, who would ultimately pay the taxes for their pensions in adulthood. Even though it may be politically unpopular, changes in benefit eligibility must be made for the program’s sustainability.
By Edward Kim
In France and across Europe, we are seeing protests, violent ones, emerge. According to most reporting, it is being dubbed the “cost-of-living” protest. The demonstrations sparked in France, where more than 550,000 people have joined. What started as student marches has evolved into looting, setting fires, and attacking police vehicles. In Brussels, Belgium’s capital, similar demonstrations have arisen, with police using tear gas to disperse protesters whom police accuse of launching missiles and setting fires. In the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, tens of thousands of protesters are also marching in the streets to speak out against stagnant wages, inability to access affordable housing, and a cost of living crisis. In Milan, Italy, rioters clashed with police, looted stores, and set properties on fire. Again, the march started peacefully, but devolved into violence when rioters started throwing stones and other objects at police. Government responses from European leaders, like Emmanuel Macron, President of France, offer a central theme: you have the right to protest, but violence is unacceptable. Shared grievances, however, starting with protests in France, are spreading across Europe. The theme from the side of protestors across the EU (European Union) is based on the issue of “underfunded education, rising living costs and, for students, uncertain prospects after graduation”. These, often violent, demonstrations come at a time of great political activity, as elections are scheduled in Spain, France, Italy and Poland in the next 12 months. Now, this situation raises the question: why now? What are the economic conditions that Europe faces that are causing such unrest? Let’s look at some of the main economic indicators in these European countries, and how they have changed from 2025 to 2026: If we look at the unemployment rate, year over year, from August 2025 to August 2026, it has not increased much. In fact, it has even gone down slightly for Belgium and Portugal. That being said, it has not gotten better, and France’s 8.2% unemployment rate is double that of the U.S., which has a recorded 4.1% unemployment rate in August 2026. Inflation is where the real issue lies. In France, inflation more than tripled, from 0.8% to 2.6%. That means the rate of the general rise in prices, which is what inflation is, has increased, and it was not met with any relief in the labor market. So the same scarcity of jobs existed in France, as last year, while the cost of living has gotten worse. The same issue exists in Italy, where unemployment, year over year, got marginally worse, while inflation doubled from 1.6% to 3.2%. In Portugal and Belgium, we see a similar story, as we do across most of Europe. Unemployment has barely improved, but the rise in prices has become noticeably worse; this makes it harder for people to be able to afford their lifestyles while the job market remains challenging. What has changed from 2025 to 2026? The Iran War is probably a key variable, as it has exacerbated the price of oil; unlike America, Europe does not have access to the same domestic oil reserves. Europe is thus more affected by events that weaken the external supply of oil. Combine this with the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is hurting Russian exports of oil, and the problem remains difficult to solve. The EU is also recovering from the residual effects of debt-based government finance during the COVID era, amid concerns that a lot of the money was unaccounted for. Then, consider the increased American tariffs, leading to a reduction in trade between the U.S. and the EU, and we can see why high prices remain a significant issue. Does it justify the extremity of the riots in France and other parts of Europe? That remains to be seen, but the timing of the riots is not coincidental. They are the result of a tightening and an ever-growing cost of living crisis, one that seems arguably worse than the one we see here in America. Will we see similar unrest in the United States, which also faces an affordability issue? I hope not, but that means leaders have to take heed of the economic conditions people are facing. For Europe, it has already come.
By Vaibhav Sinha
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