A majority of people think Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has more respect for the military than President Donald Trump, according to a new poll.
Respondents to an ABC News/Ipsos poll were asked who has more respect for the military, with 61% saying Biden compared to 37% who said Trump. The poll was conducted between Sept. 11-12 with 533 adults with a margin of error of 4.7 percentage points. Eighty-one percent of Republicans said Trump had more respect for the troops while 93 percent of Democrats said Biden. The poll was conducted after an article in The Atlantic reported Trump called American war dead “losers” and “suckers.” Parts of the report have since been confirmed by Fox News and The Washington Post. Trump denied the remarks, telling reporters, “It’s a fake story and it’s a disgrace they’re allowed to do it,” according to The New York Times.
Biden, whose son Beau served in the Iraq War, condemned Trump’s reported comments, calling them “deplorable,” “sick,” “disgusting,” and “un-American,” the Times reported. ”I’ve never been as disappointed in my whole career with a leader that I’ve worked with, president or otherwise,” he said. Trump has also recently taken aim at military leadership, accusing them of profiting off war. “I’m not saying the military’s in love with me — the soldiers are, the top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy,” the president said during a Sept. 7 White House news conference.
In a Military Times poll released on Aug. 31, 41.3% of surveyed active-duty troops said they would vote for Biden, compared to 37.4% who said they would vote for Trump. Nearly half of respondents said they had an unfavorable view of Trump, and 42% said they “strongly” disapprove of the president. The latest Military Times poll was in stark contrast to a similar survey conducted in 2016 comparing military opinions of former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and then-Republican presidential candidate Trump.
