Democrats spent most of last week sharpening their attacks on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump while watching the rollout of his veterans and national security policies during the Republican convention.
On Monday, they'll launch their counteroffensive.
With the Cleveland events finished and the nomination of Donald Trump as GOP's standard bearer complete, Democrats are using the Republican rhetoric as a springboard for their Philadelphia convention, saying it shows a clear contrast in professionalism and competency between him and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"If elected, Donald Trump will diminish our standing in the world and make our country less safe," said Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was in Cleveland last week for the Republican event. "He appears to make key decisions based on what mood he's in and his admiration for foreign dictators."
Party leaders and campaign surrogates pointed to disarray and division at the weeklong Republican convention, noting the number of conservative defense leaders who skipped the event over concerns about Trump's policies.
"We're asking the rest of the Republicans to just admit that Donald Trump is not fit to be commander in chief," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., in a Thursday press call following Trump's comments on NATO.
"When you look at this, it's really alarming to see a major party nominee be so unfit. And Hillary Clinton is prepared to do it from day one."
Clinton officials have said they plan on repeatedly referencing Trump's inflammatory comments in recent months during the convention and campaign stretch run.
Last week's NATO remarks, where Trump suggested the U.S. might not come to the aid of alliance members in certain situations, will be added to the list including his proposed ban on Muslim immigrants, his praise for Russian president Vladimir Putin, and his suggestion that more countries should acquire nuclear weapons.
"Donald Trump's worldview starts with Donald Trump, ends with Donald Trump, and has nothing in between," said Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed, D-R.I. "Real leaders bring people together and don't just try and divide. Trump is unfit because he is so combustible."
House Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said the rhetoric he heard at the Republican convention on veterans issues was just as unsettling.
"I think he's a big fake when it comes to veterans," he said. "His 10-point plan for reform has a centerpiece of a White House hotline for complaints. And it's hard to imagine someone with the attention span of Donald Trump would have the interest in answering those calls."
Takano said Democrats will dig deeper into veterans issues in their campaign work in coming weeks, including responding to top concerns among advocacy groups petitioning Congress for change.
"One of the top priorities we have focused on is GI Bill abuse by for-profit colleges," he said. "And then you see reports of how veterans were taken advantage of by his school, Trump University. I think he has no credibility talking with veterans about how to deal with for-profits."
He also blasted Trump's plans to expand private-sector care options as a potential victimization of needed VA resources, and a move toward privatization of the system. He criticized committee chairman Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., for his public support of Trump's plans.
"It's evidence of the poisonous effect Trump is having on Republicans," he said.
Democratic party officials have already announced a lengthy list of speakers for their convention week, but it remains unclear if they'll devote an entire night to national security and foreign policy like the Republican convention organizers did.
Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at
