'Show some respect!' Rep. Ruben Gallego invokes John McCain in defense of veterans

U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego invoked the service of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain in a defense of veterans that doubled as a reminder of former President Donald Trump and Senate candidate Kari Lake’s notable attacks on his memory.

Flanked by Democrats with military backgrounds onstage around him, Gallego lashed Trump, didn’t mention Lake and absorbed chants of “USA! USA!”

“Politicians like Donald Trump, they don’t stand with us,” Gallego said during his five-minute speech to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. “They called patriots like Sen. McCain ‘losers.’ John McCain was an American hero. Show some respect!”

It was part of a swift narrative that traced Gallego’s Chicago roots, time at Harvard University, his service in the Marine Corps in Iraq and the difficult days that followed his return to the U.S.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, were committed to getting veterans the help and opportunities they deserve, he said.

Gallego, who is running for the U.S. Senate, didn’t mention Lake, his Republican opponent.

In her remarks last month at the Republican National Convention, Lake attacked Gallego by name with the false claim that he “voted to let the millions of people who poured into our country illegally cast a ballot in this upcoming election.”

By contrast, Gallego highlighted a life that began in Chicago, the site of the convention, with laborious work, such as making pizzas and working in construction.

“I made it to Harvard with no money and no connections,” he said. “Other kids were happy because they were at Harvard. I was happy because I finally had a mattress.”

Gallego said veterans like him often struggled when they returned from the Iraq War. They have found reliable allies in Harris and Walz, Gallego said, before turning to allegations of insulting comments attributed to Trump.

“Vice President Harris has stood up for us and our families, always,” Gallego said. “Tim Walz served for 24 years. His passion for veterans earned him respect on both sides of the aisle, and he stands with us, too.”

With fellow Democratic veterans assembling next to him, Gallego declared, “We put country over politics.”

By contrast, Gallego said, Trump’s allies who wrote “Project 2025,” the lengthy document Democrats say is Trump’s second term blueprint, called for an agenda that would cut veterans' benefits and force the closure of veterans hospitals.

“Don’t just respect our service; revere it,” he said.

In a social media post after Gallego’s speech, Lake said she looks forward to debating Gallego to highlight “the contrast between common sense & radicalism.”

She said she will look him in the eye and tell him what she thinks of his policies, then made a comment apparently referring to his height.

“To make that happen, I can’t wear heels,” Lake wrote.

Lake’s July remarks about Gallego distorted a Republican-led, proof-of-citizenship bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives that is expected to expire in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The measure put Democrats on the spot about cracking down on voter eligibility while invoking the threat of illegal immigration.

Gallego and Lake are running to succeed the retiring U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Show some respect!' Rep. Ruben Gallego hails Sen. John McCain, vets