Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign will remove images of a retired general after he released a statement objecting to his inclusion, which he says has been misconstrued as an endorsement.
"I'm not a political person, but this isn't about just me," Ret. Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the former head of anti-Islamic State forces, wrote on LinkedIn over the weekend, noting "a number of people" thought he had endorsed Biden after his campaign released a video featuring pictures of the general with Biden in Iraq.
"I object to the use of ANY military personnel in uniform in political ads – full stop," he added in the since-deleted post.
"In accordance with Lt. Gen. MacFarland's wishes we're in the process of removing his image from this ad," a spokesperson for the Biden campaign told Politico.
"Nobody asked permission to use my image. My request to remove it was denied," MacFarland wrote. "Let's keep the military out of politics and vice versa. I think our country will be better off if we do."
The video, which shows a veteran of the Iraq War talking about Biden's work to help troops during his time as vice president, includes a disclaimer that states: "the use of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) visual information does not imply or constitute endorsement of the U.S. military, any military personnel or the Department of Defense."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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