The Silence of the Generals
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Donald Trump continued his war against America’s most cherished military traditions today when he delivered a speech at Fort Bragg. It is too much to call it a “speech”; it was, instead, a ramble, full of grievance and anger, just like his many political-rally performances. He took the stage to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”—which has become a MAGA anthem—and then pointed to the “fake news,” encouraging military personnel to jeer at the press.
He mocked former President Joe Biden and attacked various other political rivals. He elicited cheers from the crowd by announcing that he would rename U.S. bases (or re-rename them) after Confederate traitors. He repeated his hallucinatory narrative about the invasion of America by foreign criminals and lunatics. He referred to 2024 as the “election of a president who loves you,” to a scatter of cheers and applause. And then he attacked the governor of California and the mayor of Los Angeles, again presiding over jeers at elected officials of the United States.
He led soldiers, in other words, in a display of unseemly behavior that ran contrary to everything the founder of the U.S. Army, George Washington, strove to imbue in the American armed forces.
The president also encouraged a violation of regulations. Trump, himself a convicted felon, doesn’t care about rules and laws, but active-duty military members are not allowed to attend political rallies in uniform. They are not allowed to express partisan views while on duty, or to show disrespect for American elected officials. Trump may not know these rules and regulations, but the officers who lead these men and women know them well. It is part of their oath, their credo, and their identity as officers to remain apart from such displays. Young soldiers will make mistakes. But if senior officers remain silent, what lesson will those young men and women take from what happened today?
The president cares nothing for the military, for its history, or for the men and women who serve the United States. They are, like everything else around him, only raw material: They either feed his narcissism, or they are useless. Those who love him, he claims as “his” military. But those who have laid down their life for their country are, as he so repugnantly put it, just suckers and losers, anonymous saps lying under cold headstones in places such as Arlington National Cemetery that clearly make Trump uncomfortable. Today, he showed that he has no compunction about turning every American soldier into a hooting partisan.
Trump’s supporters and his party will excuse his behavior at Fort Bragg the way they always have, the same way that indulgent parents shrug helplessly at their delinquent children. But senior officers of the United States military have an obligation to speak up and be leaders. Where is the Army chief of staff, General Randy George? Will he speak truth to the commander in chief and put a stop to the assault on the integrity of his troops? Where is the commander of the airborne troops, Lieutenant General Gregory Anderson, or even Colonel Chad Mixon, the base commander?
And if these men cannot muster the courage to defend American traditions—by speaking out or even resigning—where are the other senior officers who must uphold the values that have made America’s armed forces among the most effective and politically stable militaries in the world? Where is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine? He was personally selected by Trump to be America’s most senior military officer. Will he tell the man who promoted him that what he did today was obscene?
Will any of these men say one word? Will any of them defend the Army and the other services from a would-be caudillo, a man who would probably be strutting around in a giant hat and a golden shoulder braid if he could get away with it? The top officers of the U.S. military wear eagles or stars on their shoulders that give them great privilege, as befits people who assume responsibility for the defense of the nation and the welfare of their troops. They command the power of life and death itself on the field of battle. But those ranks also carry immense responsibility. If they are truly Washington’s heirs, they should speak up—now—and stand with the first commander in chief against the rogue 47th.
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Trump essentially held a political rally at a military base, with active duty troops cheering for him – a tyrant – and booing other elected American officials that he derided with the usual dose of hyperbolic exaggeration and disinformation.
A president pitting the military against his political opposition! One of the most disgusting, un-American things I've ever seen. Even worse than the West Point commencement.
And on Saturday, the wannabe Caesar finally gets his Roman triumph.
This national nightmare can't end soon enough.
tick, tock, tick, tock ...
It's no nightmare to decent, law-abiding patriotic citizens, Progressive remain on the wrong side of history and tradition.
The lefties only have to deal with it for the next three and half years.
Decent, law-abiding patriotic citizens don't support tyrants in the United States of America. What country are you from, Greg?
... are those that support and defend the US Constitution. maga fails at both.
decent, law abiding military men and women don't attend political rallies in their uniforms. The UCMJ expressly forbids it. Where are the senior NCOs? Have they all forgotten their military customs and courtesies? I was taught that in basic and the 2 PME courses I graduated from
trumpski decapitated the military leadership and replaced them with his ass-lickers ...
Yep. None of those generals will stand up to him because they know he will fire them
as we've seen here many times before, that oath to support and defend the constitution against domestic enemies means nothing to the brain washed maga cultists ...
And presidents (or secdefs for that matter) don't politicize the military – ever. That used to be rule number one when addressing troops.
I'm hoping some are just trying to avoid firings to prevent MAGA traitors from taking their positions.
Right...
Pfft. Weak.
“…have to deal with it for the next three and half years”
Five months in and look at the damage already inflicted. Assaults on education, trade, medicine, jurisprudence, the Constitution…
‘Three and half’ more years of these absurd abuses will take decades to rectify.
If we survive it
It is perfectly fair to object to Trump.
It is not fair to blame the military personnel for attendance when the Commander in Chief makes an official address on base.
No I guess you can't blame them if it were mandatory attendence
I don't blame them even if attendance is voluntary.
There is a perfectly respectable ethical stance where a soldier (or any American) respects the office of the presidency even if they have great distaste for a particular president.
Ya got me there, Jack. I served under Bush I and thought he was a moron. Then it was Clinton and not much better. But I respected them as my CICs.
If this rally had been voluntary I would have found work to do so I couldn't attend
TBF, with Trump, you're not wrong. There is certainly a higher probability he's going to conduct himself in an unseemly manner.
I make it a point to avoid listening to him speak whenever possible. I don't watch the state of the union address, and I change the channel whenever I see him on.
But if you're some 19 year old kid who's never seen anyone famous, I can't blame you for going. It may be the only chance you ever get to hear a POTUS live.
America is beginning to resemble a government I've become very familiar with.
To those that serve, Fort Benning is the Home of the Infantry. Fort Bragg is the home of the 82d Airborne and Special Operations. The ONLY people that think "confederate" when they hear Fort Benning, Fort Bragg are the easily offended who are overdue a diaper change.
Then prove him wrong.
List them. This should be hilarious.
Actions say otherwise.
The idea that the military was "woke" was always ridiculous, similar to the idea that the nations police , firefighters, and the FBI have been "woke" . All of these jobs and professions are largely populated by conservatives, usually MAGA friendly conservatives.
But to rise in the ranks, one must be political. Thus those put in position of leadership and policy setting are often woke, while the front line soldier, firefighter or soldier is not.
the morons should be the closest to the flying lead ...
It's military politics not the same as government politics