On Sept. 7 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and NBC hosted the first Commander-in-Chief Forum on the USS Intrepid. Hosted by Matt Lauer, this forum consisted of two back-to-back interviews with presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. They faced multiple questions from Lauer, service members, veterans and their families on issues related to national security, veterans issues, and military affairs.
To begin each interview, Lauer asked the candidates about issues that could be perceived as a weakness for them: Clinton’s email scandal and Trump’s inexperience. Clinton admitted that having a personal account was a mistake that she would not repeat, but said when it comes to classified material that she takes it very seriously and did exactly what she should have done.
When asked what experiences make him fit to be commander-in-chief, Trump went back to his business background. He talked about the success of his company and his history of traveling around the world and dealing with foreign countries, specifically mentioning China. He also said he has great judgment and knows what is going on. Later in the interview, Trump was asked how he was preparing for the possibility of his presidency and dealing with these complex issues. The Republican nominee said he is constantly studying and consulting with 88 admirals, generals and colonels ― all of whom have endorsed him. He also said that he has always had an interest in these issues, more so than a normal businessman, which he said explains why he was asked about national security years ago.
Both candidates were asked how they would support veterans and stop ISIS. Trump said the main problem with our care for veterans is the extensive wait time it takes them to receive medical treatment, which could be remedied by allowing them to seek whichever treatment they felt was best ― whether it be public or privatized.
Clinton opposed this position and said her plan to fix the problem was better communication.
She said, “We’re living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can’t do a better job getting that information. And so I’m going to focus on this. I’m going to work with everybody. I’m going to make them work together.”
Clinton stated that defeating ISIS is her top counterterrorism goal. In order to do this, she plans on stopping ISIS online, using air power and the Arabic, Kurdish, and Iraqi ground troops, but absolutely no American ground troops. Trump did not go into specifics on his plans to defeat ISIS as he wants to remain “unpredictable” and said, “If I win, I don’t want to broadcast to the enemy exactly what my plan is,” which he criticized President Obama for doing. One thing Trump did reveal was his belief in the importance of controlling the oil in Iraq. He said that if Obama ensured the United States had control of the oil reserves before removing troops, ISIS would have never formed.
A full transcript of this forum can be found online at time.com/4483355/commander-chief-forum-clinton-trump-intrepid.
