Isn't the issue that one of the big reasons there is so much trouble with veterans and PTSD is precisely the notion that suffering from PTSD is an indication of weakness, in a culture and environment which very naturally abhors weakness and praises strength?
And so no matter what Trump's intentions were and what else he said this is really, really bad.
I think the relevant contrast is with how he talks about immigrants, women, racial minorities, etc.
And while I don't want to say that PTSD is exaggerated, Trump's biggest mistake is equating PTSD with suicide in the first place. I think that the two most important misconceptions regarding suicide and the military are the following:
(1) The rate of suicide among veterans and active-duty military is not all that different from the rate of suicide among similar men who never served. Depending on how you adjust for region, rurality, and age, (and whether you believe that it's appropriate to make the comparison in those terms) the rate could actually be much
lower relative to the rate for those who never served. Serving in the military is less of a risk factor than
working in farming, fishing and forestry or construction occupations.(2) Most veterans and active-duty members of the military who kill themselves are never diagnosed with PTSD and have never seen combat. Among those in the military,
most suicide attempts occur before, not after, deployment.
So even most of the well-intentioned reactions here are getting the relationship between PTSD, suicide, and military service in the United States very, very, wrong.
