'He’s like the devil': Swing state veterans say Trump 'can’t be allowed into office again'

26 October 2024

U.S. military veterans in one of the most important battleground states are coming out hard against former President Donald Trump, and urging their fellow service members to support the Democratic ticket.

The Guardian reported Saturday that in the swing state of Michigan — which went for Trump in 2016 and for President Joe Biden in 2020 — Vice President Kamala Harris is getting a late surge of momentum from veterans. Men and women who served in the U.S. military are phonebanking voters across the Mitten State by both talking up Harris' bona fides as well as warning of the threat Trump presents to both democracy and the rule of law.

"This man here, that Kamala is running against, he’s like the devil and, you know, he ain’t even trying to hide it," retired Air Force electrician Josie Couch told the Guardian.

Veteran Jerold Blunk met his wife, Dale while both of them were deployed to a base in Iceland. Jerry was in the Navy, and Dale was in the Air Force. Both of them are Michigan residents supporting Harris' campaign, with Dale Blunk saying she was particularly disgusted with Trump's disparaging of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) for being a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

"It’s about time a woman became president of the United States," Jerold Blunk told the publication. Dale interjected at that point and said that wasn't the only reason the two were voting for the Democratic ticket.

"[B]oth of us agree that Trump can’t be allowed into office again. He has no respect for anyone except himself. He has no respect for the constitution. He has no respect for veterans. He doesn’t have any respect for anyone. So he can’t go back to the White House," she said.

Earlier this week, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported on conversations he had with former Trump White House chief of staff John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general. Kelly — whose own son was killed in combat in Afghanistan — confirmed that the former president referred to American war dead as "suckers" and "losers," and recalled how Trump had no concept of sacrifice for one's country, saying: "I don't get it. What was in it for them?"

In addition to Kelly's concerns about how Trump views the military, he also told the New York Times that his former boss met the dictionary's definition of fascism. This echoes a previous comment by Mark Milley — Trump's appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — who called Trump a "fascist to the core" in an interview with journalist Bob Woodward.

Dale Blunk also called Trump a "fascist" and told the Guardian that she's particularly concerned about the havoc Trump would wreak if he wins the November election. She specifically mentioned that Supreme Court's Trump v. United States decision that granted presidents absolute broad immunity from criminal prosecution for any "official acts" carried out in office as a reason to believe the country will be "lost" if the former president returns to the White House.

"I don’t think the rule of law will prevail. The supreme court has already given him unlimited power. You give that to an egotist and a fascist, then we’ve lost our country," she said. "Literally, we’ll lose our country."

Click here to read the Guardian's full article.

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