Clinton attacks Trump for 'disrespect' of vets ahead of Philly visit
When he comes to Philadelphia Wednesday for a policy speech about the military and national security, Donald J. Trump will be greeted by a new attack ad from Hillary Clinton's campaign that replays disparaging things the Republican nominee has said about veterans.
The spot uses Trump's own words against him, showing veterans, some of them with war wounds, watching him on television as he says he knows more about ISIS than generals; doesn't consider Sen. John McCain, a former Vietnam War POW, a war hero because "he got captured;" and seeming to compare his own "sacrifices" as a hard-working real-estate developer to those of parents who lost a son in combat in Iraq.
"Our veterans deserve better," says the tagline. The ad is running on cable nationally, as well as on broadcast in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Iowa and Nevada.
On a related note, Clinton's Pennsylvania campaign announced Tuesday the launch of a bipartisan council of veterans and military families to speak out for the former secretary of state.
Among the 16 members are former Rep. Chris Carney (D.,Pa.), a former Navy commander; and Pam Iovino, a retired Navy captain who served as an assistant secretary in the Department of Veterans Affairs in the administration of President George W. Bush; and Mike Parrish, a former Army aviator who was a Democratic candidate for U.S. House in the 6th District in suburban Philadelphia.
Susan Loudon, a registered Republican whose Army lieutenant son was killed in Iraq in 2006, also is joining the effort. She endorsed Clinton in July after Trump attacked the Muslim parents of an Army captain who was killed in Iraq.
Loudon also took umbrage at Trump's comment he "always wanted a Purple Heart – this was a lot easier" when a veteran at an Ohio rally presented him with a replica of the award.
"Maybe Donald Trump would like to read my son's autopsy report to know exactly what happened to him to earn his purple heart," she said.