Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
The military is increasingly voicing their disapproval of Trump’s interference on behalf of war criminals, and the politicization of the troops.
“He’s interfering with the chain of command, which is trying to police its own ranks,” said Peter D. Feaver, a specialist on civilian-military relations at Duke University and former aide to President George W. Bush. “They’re trying to clean up their act and in the middle of it the president parachutes in — and not from information from his own commanders but from news talking heads who are clearly gaming the system.”
Chris Shumake, a former sniper who served in Chief Gallagher’s platoon, said in an interview that he was troubled by the impact the president’s intervention could have on the SEALs.
“It’s blown up bigger than any of us could have ever expected, and turned into a national clown show that put a bad light on the teams,” said Mr. Shumake, speaking publicly for the first time. “He’s trying to show he has the troops’ backs, but he’s saying he doesn’t trust any of the troops or their leaders to make the right decisions.”
Trump’s interference with the military disciplinary review process was criticized by his former Secretary of the Navy and previous Secretaries of the Navy.
Trump’s seat of the pants ill-informed decisionmaking is not working for the US military. The military is an institution that thrives on structure, discipline, and clear decisionmaking. Donald Trump has none of those traits.
Trump is a clown show, but he is also a president who is endangering national security by putting the military at risk.
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