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Let's talk about everybody else and what matters here. Uh, the fact that we have all these troops in the region, this is an issue of sensitivity for you about where America is. Why do you believe that this is something that will be rethought by the Trump Administration?
Well, thank you, Chris. It's good to be with you on your show, and I appreciate you recognizing our veterans, my brothers and sisters in uniform, and the many challenges that our veterans in this country still face alongside their families.
To me, the most important commitment that veterans and servicemen and women should have from our leaders in this country, uh, the best way to recognize that service and sacrifice and to say thank you, is to make sure that our men and women in uniform are only sent into harm's way, are only sent to war as a last resort after all measures of diplomacy have been exhausted.
Now, this is one of the many reasons why I think so many Americans turned out to vote for President Trump: it is because he understands this. We've seen how, through his last administration, he didn't just talk about ending wars; he actually went out and did that work of direct diplomacy. He went out and met with dictators and adversaries in that pursuit of peace for the American people.
So, in his next administration, he was very vocal about this throughout this presidential campaign. His goal is to end wars, not start them. His goal is to prevent World War III and nuclear war, and he spoke many times about things that Kamala Harris never brought up during her campaign about how he understands the seriousness of the stakes and the threats that we face, uh, as the American people, specifically because of the foreign policy decisions made under the current administration.
As someone who still wears the uniform—I'm a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve—as someone who's deployed to multiple war zones in different parts of the world, the most important responsibility that any president has is to serve as commander-in-chief. It’s important on this day, as Veterans Day, as well as you said, as every day, to recognize that the best way to ensure, uh, our gratitude is shown to those who serve and their families is to make sure war is a last resort. If it is required, we must take care of our men and women in uniform if and when they come home.
LTC Gabbard, I, uh, thank you for your service, of course, and your family, because the whole family serves. No matter the member, uh, the sacrifice is real. You may serve again. What is your, uh, attitude towards being a member of the Trump Administration?
President Trump is, is going through, and I know this is how he's spending a lot of his time right now, looking at making these decisions about who he wants to serve, uh, on his team and in his cabinet. Um, if there is any way that I can help achieve that goal and objective of preventing World War III and nuclear war, of course, I'd be honored to serve.
Where do you think you would be of most help to President Trump in this administration?
In a place where I can do that, there are a few different roles I think within this administration, but again, uh, President Trump will make his decision. It looks like he's already making some announcements this week; they're coming out, uh, we're seeing them.
But you've never been one to play politics. Have you been active in the process or are you just waiting to be asked?
No, I've been active as a member of the transition team. As you know, Chris, there are thousands of positions that a new administration has to fill within all of these federal agencies. We are doing our best to try to bring people together who support President Trump's vision, specifically as it relates to national security and foreign policy, to try to prevent what happened last time, which was he ended up with some neocons around him who were trying to—and I saw this as a member of Congress—they said yes to his face, and then behind his back were trying to undermine his objectives so that they could feed their goals of continuing to keep us in a perpetual state of war to the detriment of the American people and our troops.
Yeah, I get you, but you got to be careful with just putting loyalists around you also, right? I mean, you want better minds. It's people who are committed to the Constitution, uh, who support our democratic republic and the mandate that President Trump has been given by the American people in this election through the popular vote and the electoral vote to reject the neocon warmongers and actually work towards bringing about peace.
So let's talk for a second about what that looks like. Uh, the 40 to 50,000 that we have in the region, is that something that should be on the table for reassessment? Because I don't care where they are; they're certainly not completely safe, so is that an okay risk for America?
Now, I'm sure this is on President Trump's mind, and he will look to see where our troops are, where they are in harm's way, where they are based around the world, and make his decisions as commander-in-chief. In all of these examples, does their presence, does their deployment, does their mission actually serve the best interests of the American people and our national security? He's obviously been very vocal about what that means and what that looks like throughout this campaign, and that assessment will come.