Trump routinely brags that he will win wars and defeat enemies. Yet if a giant of the warrior class — General David Petraeus and Admiral William McRaven come immediately to mind, as does General Stanley McChrystal — were to come out and make the case that Trump is dangerously out of his depth and would put American lives at risk with his poor judgment, Trump would find himself, for the first time, fighting an adversary that his admirers respect more than him. Whatever else they are, Trump’s supporters remain fiercely patriotic, and they will never, ever vote for anyone they believe would harm America’s power or needlessly put our troops in harm’s way. Moreover, Trump supporters, many of whom are veterans themselves, are aware that he did not serve and has no claim to having ever fought a war, much less any knowledge of what it takes to win one.
David Petraeus is uniquely suited to the task of unmasking Trump as a military naif. While his extramarital affair was a grave error in judgment, Petraeus remains the greatest, most widely recognized military leader of his generation. He is also, with the possible exception of Colin Powell, far and away the most famous. If Petraeus and other members of the warrior class take to the morning shows and then fly to Florida to make the case to voters in person, Trump’s supporters will listen carefully to what America’s top warriors have to say. For unlike Trump, who claims to be a leader of men, General Petraeus and the other members of the warrior class have actually fought and defeated the enemies Trump claims will bow down to him.
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