--- title: Donald Trump PTSD Remarks: Joe Biden Defends Veterans description: Vice President Joe Biden defended veterans during an impassioned speech after Donald Trump’s comments about soldiers who suffer from PTSD. canonical: https://time.com/4517820/joe-biden-veterans-donald-trump-ptsd/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-04T13:42:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T10:14:14.858Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden Defends Veterans After Donald Trump’s PTSD Remarks og:description: Many critics think Trump said soldiers who can’t handle PTSD are weak og:url: https://time.com/4517820/joe-biden-veterans-donald-trump-ptsd/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0aea3694c4fe2174/6988a89597cdff122b6ae05a/joe-biden-vets-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 19th Annual HRC National Dinner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Defends Veterans After Donald Trump’s PTSD Remarks twitter:description: Many critics think Trump said soldiers who can’t handle PTSD are weak twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0aea3694c4fe2174/6988a89597cdff122b6ae05a/joe-biden-vets-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Joe Biden Defends Veterans After Donald Trump’s PTSD Remarks  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Oct 4, 2016 1:42 PM UTC  Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 19th Annual HRC National Dinner at Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Oct. 3, 2015 in Washington, DC. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 19th Annual HRC National Dinner at Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Oct. 3, 2015 in Washington, DC.Leigh Vogel—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Oct 4, 2016 1:42 PM UTC Vice President Joe Biden defended veterans during an [impassioned speech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS0nZt1Rtps) Monday after Donald Trump’s comments about soldiers who suffer from PTSD. The Republican presidential nominee [was addressing PTSD](http://time.com/4517279/trump-veterans-ptsd-transcript/) and suicides among those returning home from war before a veterans group in Virginia when he said those in the room were “strong” and could “handle” the horrors of war. However, “a lot of people can’t handle it,” Trump added. Many took his phrasing to mean soldiers who can’t handle PTSD are weak. Biden, who said he has been “in and out” of Afghanistan and Iraq more than 29 times, said Trump was not intentionally trying to offend but that the real estate mogul “doesn’t get it,” according to [_The Hill_](http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/299069-biden-trump-thoroughly-completely-uninformed-on-veterans). “I don’t think he was trying to be mean. He is just so thoroughly, completely uninformed,” Biden said. “We only have one sacred obligation,” the vice president added, “to care for those we send to war and to care for them and their families when they come home.” Donald Trump PTSD Remarks: Joe Biden Defends Veterans ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4517820/joe-biden-veterans-donald-trump-ptsd/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4517820/joe-biden-veterans-donald-trump-ptsd/"},"headline":"Joe Biden Defends Veterans After Donald Trump’s PTSD Remarks","datePublished":"2016-10-04T13:42:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:14:14.858Z","description":"\"He is just so thoroughly, completely uninformed\"","url":"https://time.com/4517820/joe-biden-veterans-donald-trump-ptsd/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0aea3694c4fe2174/6988a89597cdff122b6ae05a/joe-biden-vets-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0aea3694c4fe2174/6988a89597cdff122b6ae05a/joe-biden-vets-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"19th Annual HRC National Dinner","caption":"Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 19th Annual HRC National Dinner at Walter E. 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