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Donald Trump repeatedly asked New York City government to get veterans off Fifth Avenue because they were aesthetically displeasing.

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In 1991 and in 2004, Trump complained about veterans selling stuff on the sidewalk near his Trump Tower, which is surrounded by the finest, classiest stores, like Tiffany’s, Bergdorf Goodman, and Abercrombie & Fitch. “Whether they are veterans or not, they should not be allowed to sell on this most important and prestigious shopping street,” Trump wrote in a letter to then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “The image of New York City will suffer… I hope you can stop this very deplorable situation before it is too late.”

Veterans were ruining Trump’s look back then, but they’re critical to his image now. Trump is using them as a human shield against Megyn Kelly (and probably also Ted Cruz). The Republican frontrunner is boycotting the Fox News debate and staging an alternate event, one his campaign described as the “Donald J. Trump Special Event to Benefit Veterans Organizations** ... **Additional details to follow.” 

Get some good-looking guys in uniforms on stage, figure out the rest later. They should be easy enough to find—maybe Trump could scoop them up off the streets of Manhattan. As he said in his presidential campaign kickoff, “We have wounded soldiers—who I love, I LOVE!—all over the place.”