The Military Stands with Biden

Published in El Financiero
(Mexico) on 9/11/2020
by Pablo Hiriart (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Derek Voglis. Edited by Olivia Parker.
Serious institutions are quick to gauge the harmful effects of populism and condemn it.

Such is the case of the U.S. military, whose members prefer the Democratic presidential candidate over the Republican one.

Days before The Atlantic's Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg's and Bob Woodward's revelations were made public, a poll of active military personnel showed that only 38% approved of their commander-in-chief.

That rating fell even further after it became known that Donald Trump did not want to pay tribute to the American soldiers buried in a cemetery near Paris because he does not like to be near "losers." "If they were killed, they were losers," he told his staff.

A poll by the Military Times, released last week, shows that Joe Biden has a four-point lead over Trump among members of the armed forces.

This is the first time in decades that military members have disapproved of a Republican president and are preparing to vote by overwhelming margins for a Democrat.

In the previous election, Trump outperformed Hillary Clinton by 2-to-1 among members of the armed forces, with 70 percent of veterans voting Republican.

Just a few days ago, 42% of servicemen and women highly disapproved of Trump, 7.9% disapproved and only 38% approved of him.

I write in the past tense because the tides have since turned within the military after a week of revelations that show a side of Trump that labels his generals "fags" and has no compassion for those who died in the line of duty, including the son of former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly.

On Memorial Day 2017, Trump and Kelly visited Arlington National Cemetery, where Robert, the former secretary’s son who died in Afghanistan, was buried. At his grave, surrounded by white crosses of soldiers killed in battle, the president said, "I don't understand, what did they win?"

During his visit to France in 2018, Trump canceled a scheduled visit to the Aisne-Marne cemetery, where the remains of 1,800 U.S. soldiers who died in combat to stop the German advance into Paris in World War I lie. The reason for this is, in his opinion, they were "suckers" who allowed themselves to be killed.

What's more, he asked his staff, "Who were the good guys in this war?"

Not a single one of the generals who accompanied Trump on that trip has denied what was published in The Atlantic.

Neither has John Kelly, whom the White House suspects of being the source of the report.

When former senator and Republican presidential candidate John McCain, a Vietnam war hero who was held captive for four years, passed away, Trump told an aide, "We're not going to support that loser's funeral. He is not a war hero. I like people who were not captured."

According to The Atlantic, Trump referred to former President George Bush Sr. as "a loser" because he was shot down by the Japanese when he was a Navy pilot in World War II. Eight others were shot down with Bush; they were captured, tortured and executed. "Losers" are what Trump calls them.

All this became widely known before the publication of the survey that showed an overwhelming majority of the military disapproves of Trump's leadership.

The presidential order to abandon the Kurds in Syria, who heroically fought the Islamic State of Syria and ISIS, and his contempt for the U.S.' strategic allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Far East, hit them hard.

There is more. Most members of the armed forces support, against Trump's will, renaming military bases that carry the names of Confederate generals (who fought to keep Blacks as slaves).

To a large extent, they believe that the Confederate flag, which still flies overhead on some military bases to this day, should be banned.

Furthermore, they do not see immigration, civil disobedience or racial equality protests as threatening U.S. national security.

After the poll came the revelations about President Trump's offensive remarks toward his generals and the service members for whom he is the commander-in-chief.

The armed forces are against him. They are with Biden, even if they are not Democratic Party sympathizers.

The armed forces' stance is vital in this election because one of the possibilities, as the president suggested himself, is that he will not accept the election results and will use emergency powers to remain in the White House. Someone has to remove him from office.


Las instituciones serias miden rápido los alcances dañinos del populismo y lo reprueban.
Es el caso del Ejército de Estados Unidos, cuyos integrantes prefieren al candidato presidencial demócrata que al republicano.
Días antes de que se conocieran las revelaciones del director editorial de The Atlantic y de Bob Woodward, una encuesta levantada entre miembros activos del Ejército señala que sólo 38 por ciento tiene una opinión favorable de su comandante en jefe.
Con toda seguridad esa calificación ha caído aún más luego de conocerse que Trump no quiso rendir homenaje a los soldados estadounidenses enterrados en un cementerio cercano a París, porque no le gusta estar cerca de “loosers”: si los mataron eran unos perdedores, dijo a su staff.
La encuesta de Military Times, que se publicó la semana pasada, indica que Joe Biden tenía una ventaja de cuatro puntos sobre Trump entre los integrantes de las Fuerzas Armadas.
Es la primera vez en décadas que los miembros del Ejército reprueban a un presidente republicano y se aprestan a votar mayoritariamente por un demócrata.
En la elección pasada, Trump superó dos a uno a Hillary Clinton entre los miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas, y 70 por ciento de los veteranos votó por el republicano.
Apenas hace unos días, 42 por ciento de los militares tenía una opinión muy desfavorable de Donald Trump, 7.9 desfavorable, y sólo 38 por ciento lo aprobaba.
Escribo en pasado, porque las agujas dentro del Ejército se han movido en una semana de revelaciones que enseñan a un Trump que califica de “maricones” a sus generales y sin sensibilidad hacia los muertos en combate, entre ellos el hijo del exsecretario de Seguridad de Estados Unidos durante el inicio de su mandato, John Kelly.
El Día de los Caídos, en 2017, Trump y Kelly visitaron el cementerio de Arlington, donde está enterrado el hijo del exsecretario –Robert–, asesinado en Afganistán, y junto a su tumba, rodeado de cruces blancas de soldados muertos en batalla, el presidente le dijo: “No entiendo. ¿Qué ganaron ellos?”
Durante su visita a Francia, en 2018, Trump canceló una visita programada al cementerio Aisne-Marne, donde reposan los restos de mil 800 soldados estadounidenses muertos en el combate para detener el avance alemán hacia París en la Primera Guerra Mundial, pues en su opinión fueron “tontos” que se dejaron matar.
Y le preguntó a su staff: “¿quiénes eran los buenos en esa guerra?”.

Ninguno de los generales que acompañaron a Trump en ese viaje ha desmentido lo publicado en The Atlantic el pasado día siete de este mes.
Tampoco John Kelly, hacia quien apuntan las sospechas de la Casa Blanca de ser la fuente de información del reportaje.
Cuando murió el exsenador y candidato presidencial republicano, John McCain, héroe de guerra en Vietnam, donde estuvo prisionero cuatro años, Trump le dijo a un asistente: “no vamos a apoyar el funeral de un perdedor. No es un héroe. Me gusta la gente que no fue capturada”.
De acuerdo con The Atlantic, se refirió a George Bush (padre) como “un perdedor”, porque fue derribado por los japoneses cuando era piloto de la Armada en la Segunda Guerra (otros ocho fueron derribados con Bush, a quienes los capturaron, torturaron y ejecutaron. “Perdedores”, les llama Trump.
Todo eso se conoció antes de que se publicara la encuesta en que la mayoría de los militares reprueba la gestión de Trump.
Les pegó mucho la orden presidencial de abandonar a los kurdos en Siria, que combatieron heroicamente al Ejército Islámico (ISIS). Su desprecio por los aliados estratégicos en la OTAN y en Lejano Oriente.
Pero hay más, y no menos importante. La mayoría de los miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas apoyan (contra la voluntad de Trump) cambiar el nombre a bases militares que llevan el apellido de generales confederados (que pelearon por mantener a los negros como esclavos).
Consideran, de manera abrumadora, que debe prohibirse la bandera confederada que aún ondea en algunas bases del Ejército.
Y, muy importante, no ven a la migración, ni a la desobediencia civil ni a las protestas por la igualdad racial como riesgos para la seguridad nacional de Estados Unidos.
Después de la encuesta vinieron las revelaciones acerca de los dichos ofensivos del presidente Trump hacia los generales y soldados del Ejército del cual es comandante supremo.
Tiene a las Fuerzas Armadas en contra. Están con Biden, aun sin ser simpatizantes del Partido Demócrata.
La posición de las Fuerzas Armadas es importante en estas elecciones porque una de las posibilidades, adelantada por el presidente, es que no reconozca el resultado y se atrinchere en la Casa Blanca. Alguien tendrá que sacarlo.
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