Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher is prepared to offer his support for President Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign and possibly campaign for the president.
“If asked, of course, Eddie would endorse the president,” Gallagher’s attorney Tim Parlatore told the Washington Examiner. “There can be no stronger testimonial for an elected official than one of their constituents whose life has been helped significantly by that elected official.”
The Gallagher family has vocalized their appreciation of President Trump’s invention throughout his case, from ending his pre-trial confinement, to reinstating his rank and expunging his record, and finally ensuring that Gallagher would keep his Trident pin – a symbol of his membership as an elite SEAL.
Earlier this week, Gallagher had released a public statement thanking those involved with his case. To Trump, Gallagher said, “You stepped in numerous times and showed true moral fiber by correcting all the wrongs that were being done to me. You are a true leader and exactly what the military and this nation needs.”
Two sources who spoke anonymously to The Daily Beast on Monday said Trump wants the three military service members he pardoned – Gallagher, along with Army officers Maj. Mathew Golsteyn and 1st Lt. Clint Lorance – to join him on the campaign trail.
“He briefly discussed making it a big deal at the convention,” said one source. “The president made a reference to the 2016 [convention] and where they brought on stage heroes,” one of whom was former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell.
Trump has vowed to protect America’s warfighters, a promise he has doubled down on since receiving backlash for his action in the three high-profile war crimes cases.
“Just this week I stuck up for three great warriors against the deep state. You know what I’m talking about,” Trump said, as reported by CNN. “And so many people said, ‘Sir, I don’t think you should do that.'”
“I will always stick up for our great fighters. People can sit there in air conditioned offices and complain, but it doesn’t matter to me whatsoever,” he said.
One of those who disagreed with his decision was former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, who was fired by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper for holding secret talks with White House officials on the Gallagher case.
Spencer was vehemently against Trump’s intervention in Gallagher’s case, arguing that it sends the wrong message to military service members.
Trump had reinstated Gallagher’s rank and expunged his record on Nov. 15 so Gallagher could retire honorably after he was cleared of charges of murdering an ISIS fighter, and charged with posing for a photo with that ISIS fighter’s corpse – despite 10 other members of Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7 doing so without charge.
When the Navy ordered Gallagher to appear before a Dec. 2 Trident Review Board to determine the fate of his membership as a SEAL, Trump again intervened, stating that Gallagher would “retire peacefully with all of the honors that he has earned, including his Trident Pin.”
