Disadvantages for President Donald Trump are piling up as the general election approaches. Now, more than 200 former top officials from across the U.S. Armed Forces have signed a letter endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The officials, including Republicans, Democrats, and independents, characterize Trump as someone who is not and will not be fit for the position of commander-in-chief. In their joint letter, they cite specific issues like Trump’s failure to effectively confront climate change and his failure to meaningfully address the nuclear threat from North Korea (Trump’s meetings with the country’s dictator Kim Jong Un have resulted in nothing major).
The signatories of the Biden endorsement letter also characterize the Democratic nominee as someone who is, on a basic level, able to rise to the responsibilities that are required of the presidency. Trump frequently seems to prefer golfing, watching television, and delivering long, rambling rally-rants to actually fulfilling the basic responsibilities of the presidency.
In the endorsement letter, the former top military officials write:
‘While some of us may have different opinions on particular policy matters, we trust Joe Biden’s positions are rooted in sound judgment, thorough understanding, and fundamental values… The current President has demonstrated he is not equal to the enormous responsibilities of his office; he cannot rise to meet challenges large or small. Thanks to his disdainful attitude and his failures, our allies no longer trust or respect us, and our enemies no longer fear us.’
The officials had other examples of Trump’s failures besides climate change and North Korea. They wrote that Trump has “ceded influence to a Russian adversary who puts bounties on the heads of American military personnel,” and they noted that his punitive and arbitrary “trade war against China has only harmed America’s farmers and manufacturers.” Trump has claimed that the administration has been taking in billions of dollars from China via the tariffs that he has placed on many Chinese goods, but this claim is false. Import taxes are generally paid by the company doing the importing — meaning the steep tariffs that Trump has imposed have been tax hikes on American businesses.
The endorsement letter’s signatories include (among many others) Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, Navy SEAL leader Vice Adm. Gardner Howe, and retired Adm. Paul Zukunft, all of whom served, for at least a time, while Trump was in office. Selva was vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff until August 2019 — a prominent role. Besides the more than 200 former top military officials, the new Biden endorsement letter also includes the signatures of nearly 300 other former national security officials and diplomats from across the government, including five former defense secretaries.
Retired Adm. Steve Abbot, who is among the new Biden endorsers, commented:
‘My own personal view is that I have a duty to be involved in civic matters of the nation that I’m a citizen [of]… Over the past four years, I’ve seen what is a clear manipulation of our military to serve his personal needs. The military has been a loyal, reliable constant in this country because of its apolitical nature. And here we had a president working to undermine it.’
Just recently, a report emerged in The Atlantic revealing that, behind the scenes, Trump had apparently referred to American service members killed in action as “losers” and “suckers.” Based on his own public behavior, it’s clear — Trump is in this for himself, and leaving the American people behind.
