It’s become increasingly apparent that the Jeffrey Goldberg piece claiming that Donald Trump viciously disrespected American troops (going back to World War I) was a remarkably dishonest bit of fake news. The moment it hit the airwaves, Democrats were ready with advertisements, speeches, and articles, suggesting strong coordination. Even with a heads-up, though, Occupy Democrats managed to mess up – it stole Bobby Henline’s image to make its post attacking President Trump.

Bobby Henline has a long and honorable military history. He first enlisted in the Army in 1989 when he was only 17. He remained in the military through 1992, a stint that included fighting in the Gulf War. After the 9/11 attacks, though, Henline re-enlisted and ended up serving three tours in Iraq.

On his third tour, the Humvee in which Henline was riding hit an IED. Henline was the only man in the Humvee to survive, but he suffered terrible injuries. He had severe burns over 38% of his body, with a concentration around his head. Both his face and the back of his head were burned down to the skull in areas. He also lost part of his left arm. After a two-week-long medically induced coma, he had six months of in-hospital treatment.  To date, Henline has had 48 surgeries, including skin grafts and reconstructions.

The same spirit that saw him reenlist also saw Henline recover. He’s a funny guy and became a stand-up comedian:

Henline discovered on Saturday that Occupy Democrats was using his image without his permission as part of a political campaign:

Seeing his face used for political purposes irked Henline, so he made a short little video to complain:

@bobbyhenline

##greenscreen Take it down dirt bags ##welldonecomedian ##gotbuns ##veterans @tophert@tophertownmusic

♬ original sound - bobbyhenline

In response to Henline’s complaint, Occupy Democrats removed the photo, which is good. (The above screengrab no longer exists on the Occupy Democrats page or on the Henline page).

Still, the focus of this post remains the same: Using that photo was a tacky, unkind thing to do in the first place. As much as anything, Occupy Democrats’ casual use of Henline’s image highlights that, to Democrats, military personnel aren’t people, they’re props.

When Democrats oppose war, the troops are propped up as evil baby killers. And when Democrats want to attack Trump’s standing with the military, those same troops and vets get dragged out, once again, to stand as props in the left’s endless anti-Trump passion play.

Image: Screengrab of Occupy Democrats’ publicly available Facebook homepage.