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Lara Seligman Profile picture
@laraseligman
Sep 24, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
NEW: I spoke with Trump's former four-star head of the Coast Guard about his decision to endorse Joe Biden. He told me it was due in part to an "insurgency" on Americans' constitutional rights that has occurred on the commander in chief's watch. politico.com/news/2020/09/2…
“I've seen an insurgency, if you will, on our constitutional rights and more power being centralized at the executive level that has really divided our nation," Zukunft told POLITICO. "I am concerned that our constitutional rights are being infringed upon from within."
Zukunft was driven to endorse Biden by the 2019 shutdown over funding for Trump's border wall, which left the Coast Guard's 40K force working without pay. He is also concerned by Trump's dismissal of science, both on climate change and Covid-19.
In a particularly telling anecdote, Zukunft recalled watching Trump grow increasingly bored as a Navy adm & an Air Force gen discussed stregthenjng partnerships during a briefing in Key West, Fla.

When it was his turn to brief, Zukunft told the president what he wanted to hear:
“Mr. President, you are the first commander in chief to get off their ass and see what the hell is going on down here."

Instantly, the president was hanging on his every word. Trump agreed to give the Coast Guard additional ships Zukunft said were needed to police the region.
Later, when Trump spoke at the commencement ceremony at the Coast Guard Academy, Zukunft urged the speechwriter to add a line about building additional icebreakers. When the president read the line from the teleprompter, the crowd went wild.

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More from @laraseligman

Lara Seligman Profile picture
Oct 23
BREAKING: @secdef confirms the US is seeing evidence that North Korean troops have gone to Russia. First official U.S. confirmation.
"As we continue to look at this, there is evidence that there are DPRK troops in Russia," Austin said told a small group of reporters traveling with him in Rome on Wednesday. "What exactly they're doing? Left to be seen. These are things that we need to sort out. We'll have more for you on that, on that, later."
Austin said the intent of the North Korean troops is still "unknown." But if their intention is to "participate in this war on Russia's behalf, that is a very, very serious issue."

"You've seen DPRK provide arms and munitions to Russia and this is a next step."
Read 5 tweets
Lara Seligman Profile picture
Oct 9, 2023
"This is ISIS-level savagery that we have seen committed against Israeli citizens" -- senior DOD official just now.
The Pentagon is surging support to Israel's defense, including air defenses and ammunition, senior DOD official says.

DOD is contacting US industry to expedite shipping of pending Israeli orders for military equipment.
DOD is also working across the enterprise, including with US Central Command, to assess what munitions and other equipment are in US inventories that "can be made quickly available for Israel."

All of this is being done within existing authorities.
Read 4 tweets
Lara Seligman Profile picture
Jun 15, 2023
Happening now: @SecDef in Brussels announces that several countries are stepping up with new commitments of critical air defense equipment to help protect Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
-Canada committed another $500M package, including more than 200 air defense missiles
-US, UK, Denmark and Netherlands contributed funds for additional missiles
-Denmark just announced its own nearly $2.6B package for military assistance
Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley says Ukrainian forces are in the "early stages" of their much-anticipated counteroffensive. "It's far too early to make any definitive assessments"
Read 7 tweets
Lara Seligman Profile picture
May 25, 2023
"The bombs are aloft for only 70 seconds or less and are much more difficult for Ukraine’s air defenses to track. They are little dots on radar screens that soon disappear after being dropped, Ukrainian officials said, and then they slam into villages."
A scary new tactic Russia is using in Ukraine -->

"Zooming over Russian-controlled territory, where Ukrainian air defenses don’t reach, the warplanes release the bombs, which glide 20 miles or more, crossing the frontline and then striking Ukrainian territory."
"These bombs are even harder to hit than the hypersonic Kinzhal missiles that the Ukrainians claim to have destroyed recently with American Patriot air defense systems."
Read 4 tweets
Lara Seligman Profile picture
May 24, 2023
Some more details:

Biden decided to tap Brown for the position over his main competitor, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger, earlier this month, as we first reported, on the recommendation of @SecDef Lloyd Austin. politico.com/news/2023/05/2…
Those who know him say Brown is the right man for the job — regardless of his race. A fighter pilot w/ field experience in theaters across the globe, he served as PACAF chief, a job experts say makes him the best person to be chair while China is seen as the mil's primary threat.
In sharp contrast to his loquacious predecessor, Brown is the rare fighter pilot who listens more than he talks, according to his friends and mentors. Those who know him say he is quiet and deliberate, a careful note-taker who absorbs all the facts then takes decisive action.
Read 4 tweets
Lara Seligman Profile picture
Mar 31, 2023
Gen. Milley, Joint Chiefs chair, says one of the reasons the U.S. is not providing Ukraine long-range ATACMS missiles is to make sure we maintain enough in our own inventories. Confirms our reporting @paulmcleary @alexbward politico.com/news/2023/02/1…
"From a military standpoint, we have relatively few ATACMS. We do have to make sure that we maintain our own munitions inventories as well."
Milley also says that based on the massive consumption rates of ammunition seen in the Ukraine conflict, DoD is now reviewing its estimates for the key munitions required for various contingency plans.
Read 4 tweets

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