This past January, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump avoided attending a GOP debate due to the fact that it would be moderated by Fox News' Megyn Kelly. The feud between Trump and Kelly has been anything but a secret, and the billionare real estate mogul decided to spend the time raising money for veterans' groups and charities.

Trump and the military

At the conclusion of his veterans' charity fundraiser, Trump informed the crowd, "We just cracked $6 million!." The campaign continued to stand by that number, but over time, the actually dollar amount had been challenged.

Various news outlets, including CNN, reported that only about half, $3 million, had reached the charities and groups in question. On Friday, the Trump campaign confirmed that they only raised $4.5 million, about 75 percent of what was originally announced. Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski blamed the false number on donations that were promised by wealthy friends of Trump, but who ultimately didn't follow through. After backlash followed from several veterans' groups, The Hill reported on May 22 that a massive protest will occur on Monday, with United States Marines demanding Trump apologize for the incorrect information that he originally reported.

"I am proud to be leading a protest tomorrow at Trump Tower with military veterans who reject @realDonaldTrump," Alexander McCoy, retired Marine and protest organizer, tweeted out Sunday night.

"I demand that @realDonaldTrump apologize for using Veterans as props to get votes while failing to keep his promises," McCoy wrote in a follow-up tweet, going on to say that Trump's policies "would make America less safe."

According to The Hill, McCoy served in the the United States Marine Corps for six years, starting in January 2008 until December 2013.

Since that time, McCoy has been a student at Columbia University. When the news broke of Trump's false fundraising for veterans, the retiredMarine took it upon himself to organize the protest. "As a veteran I think it’s unacceptable that he has made promises he is unwilling to keep," McCoy said.

Election forecast

Despite the negative press surrounding the campaign, Trump has been able to weather the storm of controversy since he announced his candidacy for president 11 months ago.

Even with veterans and active military members voicing their opposition to Trump, the former host of "The Apprentice" is still doing well among members of the military, polling ahead of Hillary Clinton by a 2-to-1 margin in the latest survey by the Military Times.
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