Trump on Troop Concussions: There Are Worse Things

Additional US troops who were identified as having potential concussions tied to the Jan. 8 Iranian missile attack have been taken to Germany for treatment, defense officials said Tuesday. While the AP says no troop count was provided, the reportedly small group adds to the 11 who were removed from Iraq and sent to medical facilities abroad last week. While giving a news conference in Davos on Wednesday, President Trump was asked by a reporter about why he'd previously maintained that he was told no troops were injured in the attack. "I heard that they [had] headaches and a couple of other things, but I would say and I can report it is not very serious," he replied, per the Hill. The reporter pushed: "So you don't consider a potential traumatic brain injury serious?"

Trump's reply: "I don't consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries that I've seen. I've seen what Iran has done with their roadside bombs to our troops. I've seen people with no legs and with no arms. I've seen people that were horribly, horribly injured in that area, that war. ... No, I do not consider that to be bad injuries, no." CNN shares the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center's stance, which is that most traumatic brain injuries are mild, though they can affect cognitive function in the long run. Mild TBIs can be tougher to spot because there may be no external sign of injury, and the symptoms can mirror that of PTSD, it notes. (Read more from Trump's news conference here.)