Panama City—Republican businessman Keith Gross is trying to position himself as the clear frontrunner in the Republican congressional race to replace retiring Rep. Neal Dunn (R) in Florida's 2nd District, pressing the 'America First' agenda and his past military service as potential advantages in the contentious primary race.
A recent Pew Research survey found that 53% of registered voters like, and would probably support, politicians, or "political leaders," who have past military service.
Like Rep. Dunn, who served as a surgeon in the U.S. Army, Gross himself enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard.
During an interview with The Floridian, Gross was asked if he believed his past military service gave him an advantage over the rest of the Republican field of candidates he was running against.
"I think being a veteran indicates something. It means that you believe in America, you believe in what it stands for, and you are willing to fight for it, whether you deployed or not, whether you served in combat or not. If you enlisted in the military, you were obviously willing to fight and die for this nation. I believe in this country. I believe it's worth fighting for," said Gross.
The growing rhetoric of condemnation from Democrats and some Republicans, mainly white nationalists, over President Donald Trump's war with Iran, has caused a deep divide across the country due to the possibility that the U.S. has entered another "forever war."
Gross outlines that the nuclear threat to the U.S. and the world that the Islamic Republic of Iran has posed should have been addressed many years ago, praising President Trump for doing "what's right" and for putting the country first.
"No one wants war. That's never the first choice. The reality is, this problem in Iran has been building for nearly 50 years, and every president since 1979 has seen that Iran is becoming more and more of a problem, and every one of them has kicked the can down the road because they see it as a political problem," said Gross. " They didn't want to be tied to that political problem. President Trump, fortunately for America and fortunately for the world, has said he isn't concerned with the political consequences. He's going to do what's right. He's going to put America first, and that's what he's doing. We can't allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
The former senatorial candidate also added that he wished President Trump were in power before Communist North Korea and its late "madman," Dictator Kim Jung Il, could get a nuclear weapon.
Having a madman with a nuke in Iran would be a matter that is just a completely unnecessary risk for America and Israel—Keith Gross
Antisemitism
Before the beginning of the war against Iran, the rise of anti-Israel, antisemitism in America reached a fever pitch. The aforementioned white nationalists, like Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, and Candice Owens, appeared to have taken a page out of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kopf" with their demonization of Zionists and Jews. While none of these influencers called for the elimination of Jews and Israel, their demonizing of Jews is alarming.
The latest talking point being espoused by many white nationalist influencers is that Trump went to war with Iran at the bidding of Israel.
Most Americans, including Gross, disagree with that narrative and point to the nuclear threat Iran posed.
"I've seen plenty of people say that that's a war fought on behalf of Israel. It's not. It is in America's best interest not to allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. President Trump is doing what he can do to put America first. That's not about Israel. Sure, Israel gets a benefit, just like every other country on the planet gets a benefit from a madman not having a nuke in Iran, that's a good thing. Antisemitism is rising, and I'm not sure why," he added. "I think a lot of it has to do with propaganda coming out of Palestine, coming out of Hezbollah, coming out of Iran you've got a lot of state sponsors of terror, and I think they're making a large effort to propagandize, particularly the left youth in the United States. They've been successful in convincing these people to adopt anti Israel views for no apparent purpose."
Florida's primary election will be held on August 18. Gross will face off against fellow Republicans Evan Power, Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), former Senatorial Counsel Austin Rogers, Luke Murphy, Nick Lewis, Audie Powell, and Jim Norton.
Yen Bailey, Amanda Marie Green and Nic Zateslo, are the Democrats running to replace Rep. Neal Dunn.
