None of the signatories was a service chief or led a major combatant command. The most prominent ex-military official backing Trump remains Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who served in senior intelligence roles in Afghanistan but is best known as Obama’s appointee to lead the Defense Intelligence Agency. Flynn delivered a lengthy and impassioned address in support of Trump at the Republican National Convention and was reportedly under consideration to be his running mate. As The New York Times noted, two of the signatories on the letter are best known for their controversial statements about Islam and, in the case of Lieutenant General Thomas McInerey, for filing court documents challenging Obama’s eligibility to serve as president and command the military. Another signatory is listed as a major general in the California State Military Reserve, which is not a branch of the U.S. armed forces (although he did previously serve in the U.S. Army reserve).

Trump’s campaign released the letter on Tuesday ahead of an event the Republican was to hold in military-heavy Virginia Beach focused on veterans. The candidates are also participating in an NBC News forum later this week on national security. Trump is clearly trying to play catch-up with Clinton on the issue; last month, dozens of Republican former national-security officials released a letter denouncing Trump and his fitness for office.

Clinton received her own high-profile military endorsement from retired Marine Corps General John Allen, who served as deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, commander of the war in Afghanistan, and as Obama’s special envoy for the global coalition fighting the Islamic State. Allen joined other former military and national-security officials in speaking on Clinton’s behalf at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia in July. Trump’s public feud with the Khan family after that convention further eroded his support in the polls. And on Tuesday morning, Clinton released a new ad that is silent except for images of military veterans and families listening with concern to Trump’s comments denigrating John McCain’s capture in Vietnam and comparing his own “sacrifice” in business to that of U.S. servicemen.

The practice of retired officers endorsing candidates in partisan elections is not without controversy; critics charge that it risks politicizing the military, and the overwhelming majority of retired general and flag officers haven’t publicly endorsed either candidate.

Trump does retain one advantage over Clinton: Polling of military households and veterans shows him with a lead. Here, too, his performance trails well behind that of other recent Republican candidates. Among prominent ex-military and national-security leaders, the edge clearly belongs to Clinton, and the 88 generals and admirals backing Trump on Tuesday don’t provide quite the impressive show of unified support that it might seem on first blush.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.