Thornberry's criticism is one of the Republican Party's strongest reactions to Trump's comments so far.
Republicans in Congress are defending military leaders after President Donald Trump accused "top Pentagon officials" of keeping the United States at war to appease defense contractors.
"I'm not buying this idea at all," said Senator Lindsey Graham, a confidant of Trump. "I knew most of these three and four stars when they were colonels. They have family members in these battles."
In fact, “the people who want to avoid war are the ones who fight it most,” Graham continued.
Trump said on Monday that Pentagon executives don't like him "because they don't want to do anything but wage wars for all these amazing companies that make bombs, build airplanes and make everything else happy."
The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee said on Wednesday that he was "appalled" by the speech he's made in recent days, saying Trump's accusations were "false" and helping America's enemies.
"I'm a little bit terrified of what happened in the last few days," Representative Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said in an interview at the annual Defense News conference. "I know the president says a lot to influence him, but having a major commander questioning the military commanders' motives and basically saying they're doing it for themselves is wrong and gives our opponents a chance."
"Even if you think so, you shouldn't say that," he added. Thornberry's criticism - who did not endorse Trump in 2016 but is credited with supporting the army-building effort - is one of the strongest reactions to Trump's comments to date.
A Texas Republican was in a hurry over the accusation, as well as allegations that the president mocked wounded or dead soldiers. Thornberry, who is not running for the presidency, defended Jennifer Griffin, the Fox News reporter, who Trump has said should be fired after Trump asserted that veterans be minimized.
Trump was severely criticized after the Atlantic newspaper quoted anonymous sources as saying that the Supreme Commander described the wounded and dead soldiers as "losers" and "losers." The White House vehemently denied this report, although elements of the story were confirmed by several media outlets.
After Trump's remarks about military commanders and defense contractors, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConnville defended the officers on Tuesday, saying the generals would recommend sending troops into the war only as a "last resort."
Thornberry added that the top military commanders "who have to send people to war are the ones most reluctant to go to war."
Of the military commanders, Thornberry said, "You could say, well, their judgment is wrong or they both think too much." But their motivation and patriotism are for me without a doubt. They are wonderful individuals.
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