Retired General Stanley McChrystal criticized President Donald Trump on Monday for his remarks about retired Admiral William McRaven, the leader of the 2011 mission that killed Osama bin Laden.
“The President is simply wrong. He’s uninformed and he is pushing an idea that I think is not helpful,” McChrystal, who led U.S. forces in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, said on CNN.
McChrystal said he believes Trump’s comments that the U.S. should have hunted down bin Laden sooner are “symptomatic of a crisis in leadership we have in the nation today.”
“I don’t think personal attacks on anyone is warranted,” he added
During an interview on Sunday, Trump spoke against McRaven saying that he is a “Hillary Clinton fan.” Trump also questioned why the U.S. did not hunt down bin Laden sooner.
The President doubled down on his criticism on Monday and took additional aim at Pakistan for not alerting the U.S. to bin Laden’s whereabouts.
The Hill reported that lawmakers and former military officials pushed back against Trump’s criticism, and McRaven said in a statement he stands by his remarks that the President’s treatment of the press is a grave threat to democracy.
Meanwhile, McChrystal on Monday stated that the military’s culture of unity is strong enough that morale is not affected by Trump’s remarks.
“I think there’s a certain honesty to what’s happening now,” he said. “The President didn’t go to Arlington Cemetery for Veterans Day, and maybe that’s honest because if you really don’t care it would be dishonest to pretend that you do.”
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