SORRY NOT SORRY

VA Secretary Refuses to Apologize for Disneyland Comparison

“If I was misunderstood or if I said the wrong thing...”

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Tuesday refused to apologize for his comments at a breakfast a day earlier in which he compared wait times at VA health-care facilities to wait times at Disneyland. The remarks were widely panned by members of Congress and veterans groups, many of which called on McDonald to apologize for the comparison given that some veterans died while waiting for medical treatment. “If I was misunderstood or if I said the wrong thing, I’m glad that I have the opportunity to correct it,” McDonald said on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon when asked if he wanted to apologize. McDonald backed up his original comments by saying that VA health-care should be evaluated based on veterans’ satisfaction with the care rather than wait times.