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On New Year’s Day 2019, Donald Trump kicked off the year with a tweet attacking retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal. “‘General’ McChrystal got fired like a dog by Obama,” the then-president wrote, adding, “Known for big, dumb mouth.”
McChrystal, of course, was a highly decorated four-star general and combat veteran who devoted nearly all of his adult life to serving and protecting the United States. Trump nevertheless questioned McChrystal’s service — he used scare quotes around “general,” as if he hadn’t earned his rank — and publicly mocked him.
That was in public. In private, according to Trump’s former Defense secretary, Mark Esper, Trump also set out to have McChrystal court-martialed. It was, of course, impossible to court martial civilians in private life, so the then-president talked to military leaders about the Pentagon recalling the retired general to active duty so that Trump could formally punish him.
It was against this backdrop that the retired general, who commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan, endorsed Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. Four years later, McChrystal is backing Kamala Harris, endorsing the Democratic vice president in a New York Times op-ed.
I’ve thought deeply about my choice and considered what I’ve seen and heard and what I owe my three granddaughters. I’ve concluded that it isn’t political slogans or cultural tribalism; it is the best president my vote might help select. So I have cast my vote for character, and that vote is for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Interestingly enough, over the course of roughly 700 words, McChrystal did not mention Trump at all in his Times piece.
Just as notable is the number of other retired military leaders who’ve gone in a similar direction.
Last month, 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 he wasn’t the last. NBC News reported a couple of weeks ago 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 of the group, who include a former George W. Bush advisor, went on to describe Trump as a “danger to our national security and our democracy.”
This week, the list grew longer. The Times reported earlier this week that more than 700 current and former national security leaders threw their support behind Harris, "arguing that only she had the temperament and values needed to serve as commander in chief."
The signatories of the letter, which was organized by the group National Security Leaders for America, included former Defense secretaries and retired generals, including Rear Adm. Michael E. Smith and Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who led the CIA under George W. Bush.
As Election Day approaches, there's every reason to believe the vice president's support from retired military leaders will continue to 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 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.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.