In Michigan, these US veterans call Trump 'the devil' - and phone-bank for Harris

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 26 Oct 2024 10.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 26 Oct 2024 13.32 EDT


Like so many military veterans, the ageing group of men and women adorned with badges of fighting forces and theaters of war hesitated to talk about their past lives. But after one finally spoke up to denounce the man they called “the devil”, the floodgates opened to an anger and alarm that went far beyond normal political discourse.

The veterans turned out on a warm evening to phone-bank for Kamala Harris in Saginaw, Michigan - a swing county in a key battleground state. But first they got to tell each other about where they served and the ways in which that shapes how they see next week’s presidential election.

Most enlisted decades ago, some for only a few years. But that was long enough when fighting in Korea or Vietnam to have marked out the course of their lives and shaped their views of the world. From that vantage point, the veterans look upon Donald Trump with undisguised disgust.

Some refused to even speak his name, including former air force electrician Josie Couch. “This man here, that Kamala is running against, he’s like the devil and, you know, he ain’t even trying to hide it,” she told her fellow veterans.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/26/michigan-veterans-harris-phone-bank

[Dave Bowman]

1. He's the devil and the fundie wingnuts adore him.

[Cha]

2. Wow.. Don't you just love Real Straight Talk? TY & Vets!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

3. OT: We are lucky to have The Guardian -- not owned by sociopathic billionaires.

[Puppyjive]

4. I've been clobbered by my veteran friends

I argue with them and they start getting ugly towards me. I don't know what happened to them. They are mean and racist. All middle aged men. They have ripped apart my 9 years of dedicated service in the Air Force. We were friends, found each other on facebook, then Trump entered the fold. They cannot see the truth if it struck them in the eye. I served with these men in combat zones. We were tight. I came out of the service with a great love of people and cultures. Not sure what happened to them. I remember one of them praising Rush Limbaugh when I was fairly young and new to the service. It's so shameful what they have become.

[calimary]

6. I'm sorry to hear that, Puppyjive.

It certainly sounds shameful to me, and, I bet, lots of others here, too.

Thank you for your service. You deserve nothing but respect and gratitude. And those who no longer support you just might not worth your time or concern anymore. UNLESS some of ‘em come to their senses and apologize. They owe you at least that much.

[mn9driver]

7. When I was Navy in the 1980s , Rush Limbaugh had a 3 hour daily slot on AFRTS.

Lots of people listened and ended up brainwashed. I didn’t listen to that shit. I got out in 1990 and have no idea how long Limbaugh kept his slot, but I’d bet he was responsible for a lot of the crazy I’ve heard from former shipmates over the years.

[cynical_idealist]

5. the orange embodiment of evil

[mwb970]

8. trump is pure evil.

There is nothing to him other than selfishness and greed, recognized as the underpinnings of evil and immorality. Like so many Americans, I hate him intensely.