'The Best Recruiter Out There Is Our Commander In Chief'

Rep. Seth Moulton is amassing an army of service-oriented Dem candidates. His goal isn’t simply to defeat Trump; it’s to change politics—and maybe form his own national campaign in the process.

By EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE June 26, 2018

To some, he’s a model of service and the future of politics. To others, he’s just self-serving.

To the group of now 35 Democratic candidates he’s backing, Congressman Seth Moulton is an essential part of building a network of support and raising the money they believe will help them win in November.

This week, the Massachusetts Democrat will announce a new round of endorsements from his Serve America PAC, which was formed with the aim of endorsing and supporting candidates who’ve served in the armed forces. The endorsements will expand the footprint of Moulton’s PAC beyond congressional races—stepping in for candidates for mayor, state legislature and even agriculture commissioner—and broaden its definition of service to include veterans of AmeriCorps, City Year and the Peace Corps, who demonstrate a commitment to giving back to their communities in other ways, said Moulton.

“A couple of friends of mine, I encouraged to run, and a few people reached out to me,” Moulton said, “but the best recruiter out there isn’t Seth Moulton. The best recruiter out there is our commander in chief, Donald Trump,” Moulton told me in an interview for the latest episode of POLITICO’s Off Message podcast. “He’s the one who is convincing so many veterans who served the country before to decide to serve the country again.”

Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, says the backlash against Trump isn’t just coming from veterans; he’s hearing it from those currently enlisted in the armed forces. “I’ve talked to a lot of troops who don’t want to see him,” Moulton said when asked about the fact Trump hasn’t met with active-duty troops, as has been a tradition for presidents from both political parties. “You want to have a commander in chief that you look up to.”

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https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/06/26/seth-moulton-interview-podcast-2020-campaign-218895