Fact check: Is it true that Trump started the veteran suicide program and then shut it down?

1. Summary of the results

The claim that Trump started and then shut down a veteran suicide program is demonstrably false. In fact, Trump initiated several significant programs and measures to address veteran suicide:

• Signed an Executive Order in January 2018 focusing on veterans' transition support and suicide prevention ^[1]
• Created the PREVENTS roadmap through another Executive Order in March 2019 ^[2]
• Released the PREVENTS Roadmap implementation plan in June 2020 ^[3]
• Signed the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, providing $174 million over five years for suicide prevention ^[4]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements are missing from the original question:

• The claim about Trump shutting down the veteran suicide hotline originated from a satirical website called The Satira Tribune ^[5]
• Despite these initiatives, the actual impact was limited: veteran suicide rates remained largely unchanged during Trump's administration ^[6]
• The VA reportedly left millions of dollars for suicide prevention efforts unspent during this period ^[6]
• Some programs attributed to Trump, like the Veterans Choice Program, were actually started under Obama in 2014 ^[7]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement appears to stem from several potential sources of misinformation:

• Satirical content being mistaken for news: The claim about shutting down services originated from a satirical website but was likely shared as legitimate news ^[5]
• Oversimplification of complex issues: While Trump did initiate several programs, their effectiveness and implementation were more nuanced than simple "starting" or "shutting down" would suggest ^[6]
• Political attribution bias: There's a tendency to either credit or blame presidents for programs that may have started under different administrations, as seen with the Veterans Choice Program ^[7]

This type of misinformation could benefit political opponents looking to criticize Trump's veteran policies, while also potentially harming veterans by creating confusion about available services and support systems.