I am one of hundreds of former national security leaders who have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate. We recognize Vice President Harris’ excellent qualifications for the job, and we have been concerned for some time about the truly alarming prospect of Donald Trump returning as commander in chief.
This increase in support for Harris is not surprising. She will build the ability to meet national security’s toughest challenges, from rallying allies against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to confronting Chinese provocations in the Indo-Pacific to advancing U.S. leadership in space and artificial intelligence. I’ve proven it.
She is a passionate advocate for military personnel, veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. She has met with our military personnel around the world, from the eastern flank of NATO to the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea. She has repeatedly spoken of the extraordinary skill, discipline and dedication of our nation’s military service. And she will ensure that the United States honors its sacred promises to those who protect our freedoms and our way of life, including protecting the profits from their service.
Trump has lost the respect of veterans.
President Trump has lost the trust and respect of veterans by verbally attacking Gold Star families. He proposed firing military leaders and replacing them with soccer coaches. As former White House chief of staff and retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly acknowledged, President Trump called Americans who died in wars “sucks.”
He even recently argued that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is better than the Medal of Honor.
But the former president’s policies and actions are more harmful than his words. His mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact not only on military families, but on the American people as a whole. He routinely uses the military as a political prop, including in Lafayette Square outside the White House.
In recent weeks, President Trump has even desecrated the memory of fallen heroes by turning a memorial service for fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery into a political event.
OPINION: President Trump’s horrifying desecration of Arlington National Cemetery shows he still cannot be trusted
Most concerning is the prospect of what President Trump will do in his second term, freed from the need to abide by the Constitution.
Earlier this year, I, along with 18 other former defense officials, filed a brief with the Supreme Court. We believe that the president’s ability to freely order the military to carry out illegal orders without any legal repercussions for himself destroys the trust that must exist for civil-military relations to function in our country. He claimed that there was a fear.
The 2024 election is a pivotal moment in history
What are the chances of this happening? All we have to remember is that on January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters, encouraged by then-President, stormed the Capitol and tried to block the transfer of power. .
Trump’s big lies and attempts to subvert democracy have shocked and angered military personnel who have dedicated their lives to protecting democracy.
The world is more unstable and dangerous right now than I can remember.
The American people need capable, principled leaders to lead us through competition and crisis. For the security and stability of our country, I urge all veterans not to vote for Donald Trump. He is unfit to return to office and poses grave risks to the American people and our democracy.
He is not a disaster waiting to happen. He is a disaster that has already happened.
Admiral Steve Abbott served in the U.S. Navy for 34 years, retiring as deputy commander of U.S. European Command. He also served as President George W. Bush’s Vice President for Homeland Security and President of the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Association.
