Trump gains support of nearly 90 military figures

A group of 88 retired military figures are backing Donald Trump for president, calling him the leader to deal with “burgeoning threats” facing the country.

The military backing for Trump, expressed in a statement first reported by The New York Times, is meant to bolster the GOP presidential nominee, who has seen other foreign policy Republicans back Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

{mosads}“The 2016 election affords the American people an urgently needed opportunity to make a long-overdue course correction in our national security posture and policy,” the coalition of former generals and military officials’ message reads.

“As retired senior leaders of America’s military, we believe that such a change can only be made by someone who has not been deeply involved with, and substantially responsible for, the hollowing out of our military and the burgeoning threats facing our country around the world. For this reason, we support Donald Trump’s candidacy to be our next commander-in-chief.”

The said Ret. Army Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow, a Holocaust survivor, and Ret. Navy Rear Adm. Charles Williams organized the group.

The coalition’s open letter praised Trump’s positions on issues including border security, radical Islam and domestic policing.

“For the past eight years, America’s armed forces have been subjected to a series of ill-considered and debilitating budget cuts, policy choices and combat operations that have left the superb men and women in uniform less capable of performing their vital missions in the future than we require them to be,” it says.

“For this reason, we support Donald Trump and his commitment to rebuild our military, to secure our borders, to defeat our Islamic supremacist adversaries and restore law and order domestically. We urge our fellow Americans to do the same.”

A few of the names on the letter have courted controversy in the past. Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin described the fight against Islamic terrorism as a battle between a “Christian nation” and Islam. In describing the hunt for a terrorist leader in Somalia, Boykin described his god as being “bigger than his,” adding that “my god was a real god and his god was an idol.”

Clinton has frequently touted endorsements from national intelligence and military figures as an advantage over Trump.

Ret. Marine Gen. John R. Allen, for example, announced in late July he supports the former secretary of State.