Trump falsely tells troops in Iraq they got their first pay raise in over a decade

During a surprise visit to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on December 26, 2018, his first trip to a war zone as president, Trump told assembled troops "You haven't gotten one in more than 10 years -- more than 10 years! And we got you a big one," referring to a 2.6 percent pay increase for 2019 and claiming he personally pushed the figure higher. PolitiFact rated the claim "Pants on Fire," noting service members have received a pay raise every year for more than three decades under a formula set by federal law, including multiple years under President Obama, and that the 2019 raise was the largest in nine years rather than ten. During the same visit, Trump signed "Make America Great Again" campaign hats and a "Trump 2020" patch for service members in uniform, which reporters and military analysts said risked violating Defense Department rules barring active-duty personnel from appearing to endorse a political campaign. The White House said the hats were personal items troops brought themselves and were not distributed by the administration.