Trump Says He Could Have Won Vietnam War in a Week

President Donald Trump said at a rally in Dubuque, Iowa, on November 1 that he could have won the Vietnam War in a week, criticizing the U.S. military’s use of herbicides to clear forests rather than targeting cities. Trump named Ho Chi Minh City as a place the military should have attacked. During the war, the city was called Saigon and was the capital of South Vietnam, which was backed by the United States. Hanoi was the capital of North Vietnam. A transcript of the rally records Trump naming the city as a target but does not show him saying it was in North Vietnam. The U.S. military used Agent Orange and other herbicides to remove vegetation that could provide cover for enemy forces. The Department of Veterans Affairs dates the spraying to 1962 through 1971. Trump referred to the substance as Agent Orange during his remarks after initially struggling to recall its name. The Vietnam War is commonly dated from 1955 to 1975. U.S. combat forces withdrew in 1973, but fighting continued until North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon in 1975. Vietnam’s government later renamed the city Ho Chi Minh City. U.S. forces also carried out bombing campaigns against North Vietnam, including...