
"There are times when politicians might have to make a difficult choice — do you stand with the president or do you stand with the country? Right now is one of those times."

Demanding that “every Republican congressman and senator has to make a choice” about Donald Trump’s recent embrace of Nazis and white supremacists, retired Marine Lt. Col. Amy McGrath is out with a searing new campaign ad that shows how Democrats plan to hold Republicans accountable for Trump’s increasingly erratic behavior.

Running in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District against Rep. Any Barr, who has voted with Trump 98 percent of the time this year, McGrath demands that Republicans denounce Trump’s attempt to provide political cover for extremist hate groups in America.

“This is not what soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines laid down their lives for in World War II. And this is not the kind of president our country deserves,” says McGrath.


She retired from the Marine Corps in June with the rank of lieutenant colonel following a two-decade career. During that time, she flew 89 combat missions, including bombings targeting al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Democrats like McGrath continue to apply public pressure on Republicans as they squirm in the wake of Trump’s continued flip-flopping about the racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday.

MCGRATH: There are times when politicians might have to make a difficult choice — do you stand with the president or do you stand with the country? Right now is one of those times. Every Republican congressman and senator has to make a choice. Standing up to the president may not be what they signed up for, but when the president is in solidarity with white supremacists and Nazis, those members of Congress have to stand up and tell him he’s wrong. They need to tell him that’s not what America stands for. This is not what soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines laid down their lives for in World War II. And this is not the kind of president our country deserves. We need leaders willing to sand up and do what’s right for our country, no matter who the president is or what party they’re in. That’s why I’m running for Congress against Andy Barr in Kentucky. He has yet to condemned the president on anything. Put another way, it reminds me of a book I’ve read to my kids. Someone needs to be willing to say that the emperor has no clothes. Too many politicians haven’t had the guts to say that. It’s time they did.

McGrath's earlier video this month announcing her candidacy quickly went viral. She is part of a growing wave of retired military members who are signing up to run for Congress as Democrats next year. Trump won the 6th Congressional District by 15 points last year, but Barr now has to defend his votes to repeal Obamacare, a program that helps provide health care to 440,000 people in the state.