After Flynn led several intelligence commands within the Army, Obama nominated him to lead the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2012.
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Trump said he was prizing political experience over military experience for two main reasons.
FLYNN: What people do in their private lives, I’m not – these are not big issues that our country’s dealing with that are – that will cause our country to collapse.
But he also had harsh words for voters who prize the right to life over every other issue: “If people are going to decide [the] election on [the] abortion issue, they should just stay home”.
Now Flynn, 57, who has briefed Trump in person and penned memos for him, has emerged as more than a valued informal adviser – he’s a potential running mate.
That’s something Trump’s blunt, aggressive campaign style doesn’t necessarily need, but that the tone and tenor of this year’s extremely negative campaign would seem to command. There’s nothing in the polls to suggest supermajority support for a constitutional amendment and decades of conservative justices on the Supreme Court have produced nothing but frustration, most famously in Planned Parenthood v. Casey and most recently in the Texas abortion decision, for which Reagan appointee Anthony Kennedy provided the crucial fifth vote. “These are hard issues, but I think women have to be able to choose”, Flynn told ABC yesterday.
“I vote for leaders”, said Flynn, “and, honestly, I didn’t vote much in the military because I served whoever is the commander-in-chief”. “Donald Trump is about the future of this country and making sure that we take a direction… that puts us back on a track that we can continue to be the global leader around the world”, said Flynn.
Trump himself had a change of heart on the issue, moving from a pro-abortion rights position to an anti-abortion rights stance in recent years.
According to ABC News, Flynn is a registered Democrat who was a former Obama employee but reportedly resigned after a clash with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
“We really, we’re looking to go more the political route in terms of getting legislation passed, which is what they do”, he said.
Flynn told Fox News he is a “pro-life Democrat”, while describing it as a legal matter.
The Republican National Convention kicks off in Cleveland next Monday.
Trump met Tuesday with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his family. He replied: “I actually think this is for the conservative agenda”.
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A Clinton supporter, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, told ABC that Clinton also honored police officers and said all people should respect the hard jobs they do. He told CNN’s Evan Perez that the problems in the region defied quick-fix solutions, saying, “We’ve got to be very careful that we’re not looking for the headline”.
