Jim Gilmore says if elected, he'll take on the VA
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Jim Gilmore explained during the Fox News undercard debate Thursday why it's been so long since he's been at a debate, town hall, or anywhere else visible.
"I have been in Iowa, but this is not the place where I'm choosing to begin my campaign," he said. Instead, he's going to focus on New Hampshire, because of the way early voting goes down there. He swiftly changed the topic away from his lack of exposure to the fact that he's the only veteran in the race. "I'm not going to any Donald Trump event over across town on some sort of faux veteran issue," he said, minutes after Rick Santorum admitted that after the debate, he was going to attend Trump's special event at Drake University to benefit veterans.
Gilmore said he was ready to tackle an issue that "really confronts veterans — the concerns they've got about the Veterans Administration, and the lousy appeals process they've got, how sometimes they get good services and sometimes they don't, how post-traumatic stress disorder is not properly recognized." Gilmore, a former governor of Virginia, said that when he becomes president, "veterans are going to be treated with respect and competently."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Democrats seek calm and counterprogramming ahead of SOTUIN THE SPOTLIGHT How does the party out of power plan to mark the president’s first State of the Union speech of his second term? It’s still figuring that out.
-
Climate change is creating more dangerous avalanchesThe Explainer Several major ones have recently occurred
-
What’s TrumpRx and who is it for?The Explainer The new drug-pricing site is designed to help uninsured Americans
-
Trump’s tariff loss at Supreme Court roils tradeSpeed Read The court ruled that President Donald Trump’s most sweeping tariffs were unlawful
-
Labor secretary’s husband barred amid assault probeSpeed Read Shawn DeRemer, the husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has been accused of sexual assault
-
Trump touts pledges at 1st Board of Peace meetingSpeed Read At the inaugural meeting, the president announced nine countries have agreed to pledge a combined $7 billion for a Gaza relief package
-
NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
