Retired military general described as ‘the finest warrior’ backs Harris for president

McChrystal said his decision came down to difference in ‘character’

Stanley McChrystal, a retired Army general once dubbed “the finest warrior” in the U.S. military, has endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

McChrystal, who oversaw the Afghanistan war during the Obama administration, wrote in a New York Times op-ed on Thursday that the decision was “starkly simple.”

“Ms. Harris has the strength, the temperament and, importantly, the values to serve as commander in chief,” the retired general wrote. “When she sits down with world leaders like President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, representing the United States on the global stage, I have no doubt that she is working in our national interest, not her own.”

In the piece, McChrystal admits that he is “not comfortable” with many Democratic and Republican policy positions, preferring the “center of the political spectrum”, but argued that Harris was a person of superior character.

The op-ed doesn’t name Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump explicitly, but appears to allude to his alleged past remarks denigrating fallen military service members as “losers” and “suckers.”

Retired military general Stanley McChrystal endorsed Biden in 2020 and has thrown his support behind Harris for the White House in 2024 (Getty Images)

“Character will dictate whether we stand by our NATO allies and against Vladimir Putin’s continued aggression,” McChrystal argued. “Character will dictate whether we have a commander in chief who honors and respects the men and women who serve in uniform.”

The Independent has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.

McChrystal has had his issues with top Democrats and Republicans over the years.

In 2019, after McChrystal told ABC News that Trump is immoral and doesn’t tell the truth, the then-president savaged the military leader on social media.

“’General’ McChrystal got fired like a dog by Obama,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Last assignment a total bust. Known for big, dumb mouth. Hillary lover!”

In 2010, McChrystal resigned following a damaging, widely-read Rolling Stone profile where he mocked then vice president Joe Biden, who had clashed with the general over whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. McChrystal ended up endorsing Biden in 2020.

McChrystal’s endorsement follows a letter earlier this month from 100 former officials in Republican administrations, including numerous top military and defense leaders, also backing Harris.

The letter slammed Trump as “unfit to serve again as President, or indeed in any office of public trust,” following incidents like the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The Harris campaign has won support from other unlikely places, picking up the backing of Jack McCain, son of late Republican senator John McCain, and the endorsement of former GOP congresswoman Liz Cheney and her father, former Bush administration vice president Dick Cheney.

Whether such endorsements will matter remains to be seen, given the Republican party’s embrace of a harder-right stance under Trump, who is running on a platform of taking on establishment Washington figures like those who have endorsed Harris.

According to the latest polls, Harris leads Trump by about 3 percent.