Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates Rips Trump: He’s ‘Beyond Repair’

FILE - In this May 23, 2014 file photo, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates addresses the Boy Scouts of America's annual meeting, in Nashville, Tenn. As he leaves the volunteer presidency of the Boy Scouts of Ameri... FILE - In this May 23, 2014 file photo, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates addresses the Boy Scouts of America's annual meeting, in Nashville, Tenn. As he leaves the volunteer presidency of the Boy Scouts of America, Gates said the organization is well-positioned for the future after deciding to allow gay adult leaders in its ranks. The former U.S. secretary of defense ended his two-year term Thursday, May 26, 2016, as volunteer president. He was replaced by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski, File) MORE LESS
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Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates ripped both presidential candidates in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Friday, but particularly blasted Donald Trump, calling him “beyond repair.”

Gates, who served under former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, knocked Trump for everything from his attitude to his thoughts on foreign policy. He characterized him as someone who is “willfully ignorant about the rest of the world, about our military and its capabilities, and about government itself.”

“He has no clue about the difference between negotiating a business deal and negotiating with sovereign nations,” Gates wrote. “A thin-skinned, temperamental, shoot-from-the-hip and lip, uninformed commander-in-chief is too great a risk for America.”

But, Gates did have some choice words for Clinton as well, criticizing her being an advocate of the invasion of Libya for one, but also referencing the lack of trust some feel in the Democratic nominee.

“She has much-discussed credibility issues apart from national security, but these also influence foreign perceptions of reliability and trust,” Gates wrote.

Gates urges Clinton to give voters more reason to trust her and to focus on her national security policies in speeches

‘”Mrs. Clinton has time before the election to address forthrightly her trustworthiness, to reassure people about her judgment, to demonstrate her willingness to stake out one or more positions on national security at odds with her party’s conventional wisdom, and to speak beyond generalities about how she would deal with China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, the Middle East — and international trade. Whether and how she addresses these issues will, I believe, affect how many people vote — including me,” Gates wrote.

For Trump, Gates had this to say: “He is unqualified and unfit to be commander-in-chief.”

While Clinton has not publicly addressed Gates’ op-ed, Trump took to his favorite medium, Twitter to blast Gates, saying that he has never met him, but that he does not like his work.

“I never met former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He knows nothing about me. But look at the results under his guidance – a total disaster!”

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