[Hoot Gibson]

I know many Trump supporters have argued that Trump's shady, liberal past should not be held against him because he declared himself a conservative Republican candidate for president last year but is that any reason to ignore Trump's ongoing pattern of dishonest behavior?

Do recall Trump boasting of raising $6 million for veterans groups when he boycotted a Fox News debate? I do. The Trump campaign had been criticized for not dispensing the funds that were raised that night quickly enough - but apparently the promised funds were not available to dispense.

Well, here is a shock. It turns out that Trump did not raise $6 million for vets that night. The actual amount raised was as little as $3.1 million, although I believe that there has been a person or two close to the campaign who have cited the total as $4.5 million.

Either way, the truth is that Trump derived political benefit from boasting about raising $6 million for vets for months and he still has not personally explained the shortfall.

Military vets protest in front of Trump Tower, demanding that presumptive GOP nominee apologize for exaggerating fundraising for vets

A group of more than 20 veterans gathered in protest outside Trump Tower Monday, demanding that the presumptive GOP nominee apologize for exaggerating his donations to vets groups.

Former Marine Alexander McCoy and Army veteran Perry O’Brien, who led the demonstration, have repeatedly said that Trump overstated the amount of money he raised at a Jan. 28 fundraiser for veterans causes to inflate his reputation among Republicans.

"(Of) the $6 million that Donald Trump supposedly raised for veterans charities, a significant portion of that money either never existed or it just vanished,” O'Brien, 34, who served in Afghanistan for over three years, told the Daily News as his fellow veterans and their supporters touted signs reading “Vets Vs Hate.”

“It’s part of a very troubling pattern of Donald Trump consistently using veterans as political props, and exploiting men and women who are former service members for his own political gain,” he said. “Many of us … are particularly concerned that he has been using veterans to advance an agenda of bigotry and hate that is not shared by the majority of military and veteran community.”

“I served in Afghanistan with Muslims, with women, with Latinos, and with immigrants. All of whom don the uniform and serve their country, unlike Donald Trump,” O’Brien continued. “When he maligns those groups and tries to turn Americans against each other, we feel he does a great disservice to the people that have made such great sacrifices for this country.”

“He's creating anti-American propaganda, and he is lowering the bar for the moral standards of a conduct of war,” O’Brien said.

The Trump campaign didn’t respond to questions about Monday’s protest.

Trump skipped a GOP debate on Jan. 28 in Iowa to hold his own event centered around veterans issues.

Various media outlets have determined that the amount raised was only about $3.1 million.