When Donald Trump boasted to Fox News in June that he’d fire U.S. military leaders he deemed “woke,” it was not an isolated comment. On the contrary, the Republican repeated the commitment in July and then again in August.
The former president might not have much of a governing vision, but he’s made no secret of the fact that he intends to purge the nation’s military leadership of officers he considers insufficiently loyal to the MAGA vision. What’s more, this isn’t altogether new.
While in office, for example, Trump reportedly lashed out at generals as “a bunch of dopes and babies,” while publicly going on the offensive against his own former Defense secretary, retired Gen. James Mattis, whom he accused of acting like a “Democrat” for questioning the White House’s less-defensible national security moves. After leaving office, Trump went after retired Gen. Mark Milley — the man he tapped to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — falsely accusing the Army general of having committed treason.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ relationship with U.S. military leaders is noticeably different.
Two weeks ago, for example, retired four-star Gen. Larry Ellis, a highly decorated veteran who served under 10 presidential administrations, announced his support for the Democratic nominee. Ellis, who served his country for nearly a half-century, had never before endorsed a candidate for elected office, but in the 2024 presidential election, he made an exception, writing that “this is not a decision I take lightly, but one I believe necessary.”
The retired general was the first senior military leader to publicly back the vice president, but we now know he wasn’t the last. NBC News reported this week on the launch of National Security Leaders for America and the group’s support for Harris.
The group said in a statement, signed by several [retired] generals and admirals, that Harris is “the best — and only — presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief.”
“She has demonstrated her ability to take on the most difficult national security challenges in the Situation Room and on the international stage, from rallying our allies against Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine to standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies in the Indo-Pacific against China’s provocative actions, to advancing U.S. leadership on space and artificial intelligence. She is a steadfast supporter of service members, veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors,” the group wrote.
Members, who include a former George W. Bush advisor, went on to describe Trump as a “danger to our national security and our democracy.” “At his core, he does not understand selfless service and sacrifice, and he should never be allowed to again serve as commander-in-chief of the greatest fighting force in the world,” the group wrote. This list might yet grow. Around this time four years ago, a surprising number of retired military leaders, many of whom had been apolitical for decades, stepped up to denounce Trump, endorse Joe Biden, or both. For the most part, however, they waited until October to express their election-related opinions. Will many of those same retired generals and admirals step up again as Election Day nears? Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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