Washington (CNN) Donald Trump’s campaign released a letter Tuesday signed by 88 retired military leaders endorsing his presidential candidacy, including four four-star generals and 14 three-star flag officers, according to the campaign.
The group, which was organized by Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow and Rear Admiral Charles Williams, praised Trump and declared that “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.”
Also included in the letter was Gen. Burwell Bell, a retired four-star general who commanded US forces in Korea from 2006 until his retirement in 2008, and a notable inclusion in light of Trump’s rhetoric allowing for the possibility of nuclear proliferation in the Asia-Pacific region.
“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 group wrote in their letter.
The former US military leaders were sharply critical of the Obama administration’s national security and foreign policy, warning that “enemies have become emboldened, sensing weakness and irresolution in Washington” and that “in our professional judgment, the combined effort is potentially extremely perilous.”
“We support Donald Trump and his commitment to rebuild our military, secure our borders, to defeat our Islamic supremacist adversaries, and restore law and order domestically. We urge our fellow Americans to do the same.”
