Military
Trump's 'Absolutely Disgraceful' Slur On Haley's Husband Enrages GOP General

Retired General Don Bolduc

Retired brigadier general Don Bolduc, who was the Republican nominee for the 2022 US Senate race in New Hampshire, is blasting former President Donald Trump for his attacks on the military.

During a campaign event for former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Bolduc assailed Trump for his repeated jabs at Haley's husband, Michael. who is currently deployed in the Horn of Africa with the South Carolina National Guard. The former president mocked Michael Haley for being "away" and "gone" and questioning his whereabouts during a rally last weekend, suggesting that "he knew" something without elaborating.

"The comments that President Trump made about Michael's service, knowing full well where Michael was, and trying to attribute that to some other characterization, is absolutely disgraceful," Bolduc said. "But we also know that's not the first time Donald Trump has done this."

As Bolduc noted, Trump has taken numerous shots at members of the military throughout his political career. In 2018, the Atlantic reported on how, as president, Trump complained about having to stand in the rain at a ceremony honoring fallen service members in France, saying US soldiers who died in war were "losers" and "suckers." He also reportedly complained that the rain would ruin his hair.

Trump also insulted the Gold Star family of a dead Muslim service member, suggesting that the father was the only one spoke during an address at the Democratic National Convention because the soldier's mother was supposedly not allowed (the father stated that she was simply too aggrieved to speak about her son's death).

And as Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) — who is a West Point graduate — noted, Trump has also attacked decorated veterans like the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who was a four-star general before being appointed to oversee the Pentagon.

"Trump’s toxic brand of so-called leadership has done serious, lasting damage to the U.S. military. He has broken faith with our troops and sought to misuse the military for his own partisan agenda. He has taken money away from needed military projects and diverted it to his ineffective border wall. He seems intent on making it difficult for members of the U.S. military who are stationed overseas to exercise their right to vote," Reed stated on his website. “It will take years to repair the damage President Trump has inflicted on the United States military.

Watch the video of Bolduc's remarks below, or by clicking this link.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

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Retired Three-Star General Ben Hodges Slams Trump As 'Mafia Type'

Gen. Ben Hodges

Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump's recent comments suggesting he would compromise the US' agreement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has alarmed and angered national security experts, including retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges.

During an interview with British newspaperThe Times, Hodges called out Trump for signaling that he would violate Article 5 of NATO, which pertains to the collective agreement between NATO countries that they will rally to the defense of any ally who is attacked by Russia. In a recent speech, Trump spoke about a conversation with "one of the presidents of a big country" who "stood up and said, 'Well, sir, if we don't pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?' Trump then said he "would not protect" that country if it wasn't contributing enough funding to NATO, and "would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want."

"You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills," Trump said.

"Trump hates alliances. He hates an obligation where he'd have to live up to something," Hodges said. "Mafia type that he is, he doesn't want anybody restricting his options. He couldn't care less about moral obligations. He's willing to chuck the whole thing away."

Hodges warned that if Trump was elected to a second term in November, America's European allies would have every reason to worry about the former president not honoring his predecessors' commitments to preserving the NATO alliance.

"We would be foolish not to take at face value exactly what [Trump] says," Hodges said. "In his last term, he did have people around him who were able to moderate certain things, at least for a period of time. He won't make that same mistake again."

The NATO alliance has become particularly important as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his incursion into Ukraine's Donbas region and maintains his occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. NATO added Finland to its alliance last year, and Sweden is on the verge of joining the alliance as well. Putin argued that NATO's expansion into eastern Europe constituted encroachment by the West necessitated his attack on Ukraine in 2022. However, Ukraine has countered that Putin's aggression since its 2014 annexation of Crimea — which led to its expulsion from the G8 — will only worsen, adding that they want to regain control of both the peninsula and the disputed Donbas territory.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.