The P&J’s Westminster correspondent Lindsay Razaq swaps UK politics for the US Presidential election.
“If you want peace, prepare for war.”
That’s the answer retired US army colonel Patrick Murray gives as he outlines his reasons for backing Donald Trump.
The former congressional candidate, who is descended from Dunbar Scots, says military budget cuts in recent years have led to a rise in the accident rate and a fall in morale.
He wants to rebuild capacity and believes the Republican nominee is the man to do that.
Mr Murray, who lives in Alexandria in Northern Virginia, adds: “He believes like Reagan did in peace through strength.
“That’s an ancient adage from Roman days – if you want peace, prepare for war. George Washington said the same thing.
“That is one of my strongest reasons for supporting Trump.”
Mr Murray also points to the tycoon’s status as a non-politician and his stance on immigration.
He adds: “He comes from the business world. I think you need non-politicians in there.
“Thomas Jefferson, one of our founders, believed in what they called citizen legislators.
“They would serve two to thee terms and then go back to their old jobs.”
Among his other concerns are terror group IS and illegal migration into the US.
“We are a nation of immigrants, my family is from Dunbar,” he adds.
“We are all immigrants, but there’s a way to come here legally.
“I have worked as a military attache in US embassies. I would go to work early in the morning and there would be a line of people down the street and round the corner just to get in to have a chance at a visa.
“That really spoke to me.
“The press conflates Trump’s comments on illegal immigrants. He’s not anti-immigration.”
Asked what he does not like about Hillary Clinton, Mr Murray says she would be “Barack Obama’s third term”.
And he criticises her use of a private e-mail server for government work, emphasising how seriously he took his security clearance when he was in the military.
He does not defend Mr Trump’s comments about women, insisting it bothered him when the Access Hollywood tape emerged.
But he adds: “It was a long time ago. He apologised for it. That’s all he can do.
“He’s said bad things, she’s done them. It’s no contest to me.”
Mr Murray shies away from predicting the result, but says there could be significant numbers of closet Trumpers.
“I like to equate this to the way the Brexit vote occurred,” he adds.
“A lot of Brits didn’t want to admit they were going to vote to leave.
“There are a lot of Americans who will not want to admit they are going to vote for Trump. We will see.
“If Trump doesn’t win it will be because not enough Republicans voted.”
