Retired four-star Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Thursday endorsed Democrat nominee Joe Biden for the presidency, even after former President Barack Obama replaced his command of U.S. and NATO military forces in Afghanistan in 2010 after he dismissed Biden and criticized national security leaders in a Rolling Stone article.
"I never didn't respect Vice President Joe Biden or President Obama," McChrystal said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "I think my willingness to endorse now should signal to people that there was a respectful relationship then and just how important I think it is to replicate that kind of respectful relationship between senior military leaders and now."
Shortly after the article came out, Obama replaced McChrystal with Gen. David H. Petraeus, reported The New York Times. Biden, at that time, said he did not take McChrystal's comments personally.
On Wednesday, McChrystal said he's picking Biden over President Donald Trump for several reasons, including his concerns about rising violence in the United States.
"I've seen what happens when we stop talking about policy issues or differences and it starts to become cultural or tribal," McChrystal said. "In Afghanistan and Iraq, we saw violence that went way beyond anything that was logical. We say that could never happen in our country but I'm not sure we're in a position to make that kind of confident statement."
He added that he wants "responsibility" in a commander in chief, and someone who is "humble enough to understand that they are a servant."
"I don't think we need a genius. I don't think we need a magician," he said. We need an honest person willing to listen, someone who will take in information, surround themselves with talented people. Anyone we chose will make mistakes, that's for sure. But the reality is if we pick for character, values, we'll be best off."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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