Former GOP strategist Rick Wilson broke down on Saturday why theres an endless pattern that shows Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump s utter contempt of the U.S. military .

The former president has faced criticism including from the Veterans of Foreign Wars in recent days after he declared that the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the countrys highest civilian honor, was much better than the Medal of Honor, the nations highest military decoration.

Wilson co-founder of The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump political action committee appeared on MSNBC where he referred to Trump attacking the late Sen. John McCain and the parents of late U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan.

I recall when the stories broke about Trump calling veterans suckers and losers, Wilson told MSNBC s Ayman Mohyeldin .

He later added, There is an endless pattern of Trumps hideous degree of just spleen and hatred for them, because he thinks they are desperate to be in the military because of their socioeconomic circumstances. He thinks its like a welfare program that they should be ashamed of.

Wilson described Trumps relationship to the military as one where he thinks that his bluster makes him a leader, noting that he joked in 2016 about wanting to receive the Purple Heart.

Well, its pretty easy, Donald. You couldve gotten the Purple Heart if you hadnt been a draft dodger during the Vietnam War where 58,000 American men sacrificed their lives, Wilson said.

Donald Trump spent his time during the Vietnam War, as he bragged about later, chasing women around New York, he added. This is a guy who is beyond contemptuous.