Democratic Senate candidate Amy McGrath compared supporting her campaign to serving in uniform, prompting condemnation from a group of Kentucky veterans.

During an August 29 virtual event, McGrath told members of her veterans coalition that by “helping this campaign,” they were “doing as much” to help the country as when they “wore the uniform.”

“What you are doing in helping this campaign, you are literally helping your country,” McGrath said. “I would say you are doing as much, right now, in being part of this effort, as you were when you wore the uniform.”

Retired master sergeant George Kaelin, a 26-year Air Force veteran, called the comparison “degrading.”