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President Trump’s decision to grant clemency to three United States soldiers — and the attending backlash from the Washington, D.C. establishment — confirm what servicemen and women have known all along: President Trump is the champion our troops have been missing for decades.

Former Vice President Joe Biden was quick to criticize the President’s decision to pardon the three soldiers, tweeting that the move is a sign President Trump “is not fit to command our troops.”

Such comments are part of a disturbing trend in Washington. Too often, political leaders have refused to defend America’s soldiers, hanging us out to dry when we most need their help. That has real world consequences, alienating service members from the civilian leadership they are obliged to obey.

If anything makes a political candidate unfit to act as Commander-in-Chief, it’s the anti-military attitude shared by so many in Washington, including Biden. That attitude puts lives in danger and makes it harder for our military to accomplish its objectives.

Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance, one of the three soldiers granted clemency, put it best.

“A soldier, a service member who knows that their commanders love them,” he said in an interview following President Trump’s announcement, “will go to the gates of Hell for their country and knock them down.”

President Trump has always made his love for our men and women in uniform abundantly clear. He goes to bat for us where other Washington politicians have lacked the courage or conviction, engendering popular respect and admiration for the men and women who risk their lives to protect our freedoms.

Politicians often pay lip service to the armed forces without backing us up when real decisions are on the line, but President Trump walks the walk. He’s put the troops at the core of his national security decision-making, fighting against entrenched political interests to ensure that America’s warriors are only asked to make worthwhile sacrifices. The president’s withdrawal of American troops from Syria is a perfect example — the move was overwhelmingly supported by our veterans, but received vociferous criticism from establishment politicians.

Under President Trump’s leadership, active service members and veterans alike know that we have a champion in Washington who will fight for us with the same tenacity that we bring to the battlefield.

While the president has (thankfully!) not called upon us to storm the gates of Hell, we stand ready to carry out any orders our Commander-in-Chief might issue, because we know those orders will always be crafted with our interests firmly in mind.

President Trump is the leader America’s soldiers have craved for decades, and Joe Biden’s criticisms are just more proof that the Washington, D.C. political establishment is completely out of touch with the needs, cares, and concerns of the brave men and women manning the front lines.