Veterans have no idea how they ended up in ‘Veterans for Trump’ coalition

Donald Trump received the most universal condemnation of his campaign after his remarks about John McCain’s war hero status, which prompted him to cobble together a coalition called “Veterans for Trump” just 6 days later. But after members’ names appeared on a press release, some are wondering how they ended up on the list in the first place.

According to the announcement, the “veterans have pledged their support to Mr Trump in the primary, and they will be advocating for him.” But when The Guardian contacted a few of them, it turned out that some had no idea that they were included.

“I don’t know anything about it,” said 88-year-old, World War II-veteran Ernie Fusi.

“I haven’t told anyone I want to get in on that,” he added. “I’m not going to do any campaigning.”

From The Guardian:

Fusi said he was a Republican voter, although he had not gone to any meetings or speeches in this election cycle. He said he would not vote in the primary but would vote for whichever GOP candidate ran in the presidential election. He was unhappy about being named as a coalition member.

A veteran from New Hampshire namd Donald Richards was also included on the list — along with his wife, Connie Richards. Neither of them had signed up for the group.

“I’m not a member of the campaign, no,” he said. “I have no connection any more than anybody else does to him.”

“I’m not walking around with a sign saying ‘I’m voting for Trump,’” Richards added. “I’m not doing that.

I’m just a regular citizen who hasn’t made up his mind yet who I’m voting for.”

In an email from Trump’s campaign, a spokeswoman said:

“The campaign has written confirmation of support from each of the individuals listed as part of the New Hampshire Veterans Coalition, including those quoted in this story. We are extremely proud to have their support.”

Featured image: Rueters

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