Veteran Critiques Ossoff in New Political Ad
A Vietnam veteran who received a Purple Heart is challenging Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in a political advertisement for the upcoming U.S. Senate race. This veteran, Al Lipphardt, who once attended a Joint Address to Congress as Ossoff’s personal guest, alleges that Ossoff has neglected the needs of veterans.
The advertisement, which was first revealed by Breitbart News, features Lipphardt from Stone Mountain, Georgia. He expresses his disillusionment with Ossoff, noting he once believed the senator was supportive of veterans. However, Lipphardt claims Ossoff “voted against funding for veterans, and then he took credit anyway.” This ad will be digitally released by the campaign of Mike Collins, Ossoff’s GOP opponent, just before election day on November 3.
“I’m a Vietnam veteran. Purple Heart recipient. That’s me, with Jon Ossoff. I was his guest at the Capitol last year. When Ossoff said he’d stand with veterans, I believed him. Then he voted against funding for veterans, and then he took credit anyway,” Lipphardt recounts in the ad titled “Didn’t Serve Us.”
“I thought I could trust him, then I found out I can’t. I served my country, but Ossoff didn’t serve us,” Lipphardt continues, noting his current role leading the Veterans for Mike coalition.
Lipphardt’s criticism centers around Ossoff’s previous claims about securing funding for military infrastructure at Fort Benning and Fort Stewart. He points out that despite initially supporting certain funding measures—like improvements for an elementary school and conditions for military personnel—Ossoff later voted against these provisions when they were consolidated into a larger appropriations bill. This particular bill was associated with a lengthy government shutdown that concluded on November 12, without Ossoff’s backing.
When questioned about this shift in July, Ossoff’s campaign maintained that he played a crucial role in the budget increase. An Ossoff spokesperson stated, “Let’s be clear: Georgia’s massive 2026 military construction budget, the highest in 15 years, is a direct and undeniable result of Senator Ossoff’s work as the senior Democrat on the Military Construction subcommittee.”
Collins’s campaign has responded by asserting that Ossoff has not lived up to his promises to Georgia’s veterans. In a statement, spokesperson Meyer Siegfried said, “Al Lipphardt answered his country’s call and served with honor. Jon Ossoff answered to the radical left and failed Georgia’s veterans.” Siegfried added, “Ossoff invited a Purple Heart veteran to the Capitol, promised to stand with him, then voted against them and took the credit. Mike Collins will stand with veterans when it counts.”
