Stu Barnes-Israel, a former U.S. Army combat veteran who served in Afghanistan and a Republican candidate running to represent Indiana’s Ninth Congressional District, told Breitbart News Saturday that President Joe Biden’s “weakness” has been an “embarrassment” and has “absolutely emboldened our adversaries around the world.”
Barnes-Israel, an Army combat veteran awarded a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan, told Breitbart News’s Washington Bureau Chief, Matthew Boyle, that over a third of his life has been about service and fighting for this country. He mentioned that he, along with other veterans, is running for Congress to do the exact same thing there: make the country better.
The Army combat veteran noted that if he’s elected to Congress, which he is hoping to be in November if he gets past his state’s primary next month, Barnes-Israel wants to prioritize his time in Washington, DC, to get the country back on track.
When speaking about Afghanistan, where he served for a year of his life, Barnes-Israel said it was an “absolute embarrassment to this country” to see how Biden gave up and left the county by botching the withdrawal. “Biden’s weakness has absolutely emboldened our adversaries around the world.”
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“I gave a year of my life, but many, many more gave much, much, more in Afghanistan. And we did not have to leave that way. We did not have to show that kind of weakness around the world,” Barnes-Israel explained. “And look, it’s emboldened our adversaries in Iran, in Russia and Ukraine, in North Korea, and in China.”
“And America needs to be strong in the world, again,” the Republican emphasized. “America needs to continue to be a beacon of freedom, hope, and strength around the world that we’ve always been… Biden’s weakness is not, is not, helping us. So I took it personally when I watched the debacle in Afghanistan, and I watched Joe Biden just walk away and let the Taliban takeover.”
He noted that Afghanistan is one of the reasons he wants to step up and serve the country again but said that the current “fight” is in Congress. As many veterans are starting to feel the same way and stand up to be elected to Congress and try to serve the county as an elected official, he said, this is why “We are seeing veterans rise up around this country to go fight for us in D.C. again, and I’m proud to be a part of that movement.”
“Throughout history, we have seen times in our history after World War Two, for example, where veterans came home, combat veterans came home, and then went and built a better country,” he explained. “Fought for us in Congress and to make our country stronger and safer. And that’s what we got to do now, because, you know, typically, veterans are in this fight for the country, for the veteran of the country, and not for themselves. And unfortunately, in our politics today, unfortunately, in D.C. today, we see too many career politicians whose entire lives have been about politics, and have been about serving themselves and enriching themselves, serving their careers, serving their legacies, doing whatever it takes for them to climb the political ladder, rather than serve the community, serve the people, serve the country. And so, most veterans have a history and a track record of serving this country or fighting for this country. And that’s what we and I plan to do in D.C. And I think when a lot of us get there, we’re going to. We’re actually going to get a lot of things done for this country for once.”
He continued to talk about why being a veteran helps prepare people for being a better member of Congress and a candidate by mentioning that “The Army teaches you a lot about the world, [and] about yourself.” But you also have to know how the economy works and how businesses work, which he has after receiving his MBC from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2018.
Indiana’s primary election date is May 3, where Barnes-Israel is running for the Republican nomination. The current member of Congress, Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN), announced he would not run for reelection.
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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