Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Thursday endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
The endorsement came roughly 10 years after then-President Barack Obama fired McChrystal following a Rolling Stone profile of the general in which he mocked Biden and other administration officials.
Biden, if elected in November, “would surround himself with an effective team of good people,” McChrystal said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“I think he would set a tone in which he brings out the best of people,” McChrystal continued. “Again, not everybody will agree with every policy ― nobody ever will ― and that’s healthy in a democracy. But we have to believe in our values. You have to believe that your commander-in-chief, at the end of the day, is someone you can trust. And I can trust Joe Biden.”
McChrystal led the Joint Special Operations Command in the mid-2000s under President George W. Bush. He served as commander of the International Security Assistance force for just over a year under Obama before being forced to resign in June 2010, a day after Rolling Stone published an article online in which McChrystal and his staff made disparaging comments about Biden and criticized Obama’s leadership.
In the Rolling Stone story, McChrystal and his staff expressed frustration with reporter Michael Hastings’ questions about Biden.
“Are you asking about Vice President Biden?” McChrystal said with a laugh. “Who’s that?”
“Biden?” a top adviser chimed in. “Did you say: Bite Me?”
McChrystal apologized soon after the story was published.
“I extend my sincerest apology for this profile,” he said in a statement at the time. “It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened. Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard.”
Obama denied firing McChrystal for the remarks, instead saying the general was dismissed because of differences in Afghan war strategy.
“I don’t think we can sustain that unity of effort and achieve our objectives in Afghanistan without making this change,” Obama told reporters at the time.
McChrystal has made clear that he’s no fan of President Donald Trump. He called Trump dishonest and immoral during a 2018 interview with ABC News.
Democracy In The Balance
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“If we want to be governed by someone we wouldn’t do a business deal with because their background is so shady ― if we’re willing to do that ― then that’s in conflict with who I think we are,” McChrystal said. “And so I think it’s necessary at those times to take a stand.”