- Officials back Harris in letter amid renewed Democratic campaign
- Harris addressed difficult national security challenges, the letter said.
- The letter describes Trump as “a danger to democracy and national security.”
WASHINGTON: A group of 10 retired senior US military officials endorsed US Vice President Kamala Harris in a letter made public on Monday, saying she is the only presidential candidate fit to serve as the nation's commander-in-chief and calling her Republican rival Donald Trump “a danger to our national security and democracy.”
The letter, signed by retired Gen. Larry Ellis and retired Rear Adm. Michael Smith, among others, cited Trump's comments disparaging members of the military and his own “chaotic approach” to Afghanistan before the U.S. withdrawal, including negotiating a deal with the Taliban that allowed 5,000 of the group's fighters to return to the battlefield.
On the contrary, they wrote, Harris “has demonstrated her ability to confront the toughest national security challenges in the Situation Room and on the international stage,” from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to tensions with China in the Indo-Pacific.
“Harris is the best — and only — presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander in chief,” the Harris campaign wrote in the letter published on X.
The Democratic vice president and Trump, who is running for a third term after serving in office from 2017 to early 2021, are facing a tight race ahead of the Nov. 5 election in an unprecedented contest in which the future of American democracy is at stake.
The letter coincided with a new Harris campaign ad released ahead of the two candidates' Tuesday night debate in which former Trump officials warned that a second Trump presidency would pose major risks.
“In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House. Now, those people have a warning for America. Trump is not fit to be president again, his vice president fears,” the ad says. It features videos from Trump's former vice president Mike Pence, former defense secretary Mike Esper, former national security adviser John Bolton and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
The letter also comes a day before House Speaker Mike Johnson is set to host a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring the 13 service members killed in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Trump and his fellow Republicans have sought to blame Harris for the Afghanistan withdrawal, and members of Congress issued a report on Monday.
The retired military officers, in their letter, blamed Trump for “failing to take responsibility for his own role in putting service members in harm’s way,” highlighting his agreement to release Taliban fighters without involving the Afghan government and for failing to leave a withdrawal plan after leaving office following his 2020 election loss.
