For the younger folks: Kerry got some seriously badass medals for his military service in Vietnam. People who had been on the same boat as he did, but at a different time, worked with the Republican party to claim that he hadn’t really done what he did. The press ate this up, and distributed it widely, costing him public support and likely the election.
The Republicans have never given a single shit about veterans, they just like the flag waving and faux patriotism. They nominated the guy who consistently insults veterans, calling those who fell in war “losers”, and the rest of their elected officials consistently starve the VA so that veterans can’t receive the care they were promised.
Like everything else the Republicans claim to “support”, it’s in name only, and no substance. They only support their billionaire overlords, and the orange fuhrer himself.