One of the things that makes Donald Trump’s campaign rallies different from most is the audio-video dimension of the events: The former president often references screens at the venue to make a point or drive home an observation he considers important. At one rally this week, the Republican even showed attendees one of his campaign ads.
At his latest event in Pennsylvania, he even aired part of a movie. The New York Times reported:
Trump is showing the boot camp training scene from the movie ‘Full Metal Jacket’ again, along with social media videos of apparent service members dressed in drag, to suggest that the military has become ‘woke’ since he left office.
The Times’ report went on to note that the star of “Full Metal Jacket,” Matthew Modine, is a Democrat who has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Nevertheless, the film excerpt was part of a larger message: Trump has taken a long look at his country’s armed forces, and he’s unimpressed.
In fact, the day before he campaigned in Pennsylvania, Trump said during an interview, in reference to the nation’s status quo, “The military is bad. We have generals that do such a bad job.” In the same interview, the GOP nominee went on complain that U.S. military leaders “never get fired.”
Trump’s criticisms and disparaging remarks about his own country’s military are not exactly new. On the contrary, it was just last week when he downplayed the importance of American troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries during an Iran-backed attack.
Six weeks earlier, the former president, hoping to impress a party megadonor, also downplayed the significance of the Medal of Honor — comments the Veterans of Foreign Wars described as “asinine” — before sparking a related controversy with a political appearance at Arlington National Cemetery.
As regular readers know, Trump has also reportedly denigrated those who serve in the military and condemned fallen American heroes as “suckers” (he denies doing so), reportedly disparaged wounded veterans, blamed military leaders for failed missions he approved, feuded with Gold Star families and famously declared in reference to American prisoners of war, “I like people that weren’t captured, okay?”
But I’ve been especially interested in Trump’s bitter complaints about American military leaders, whom he’s vowed to fire if given a second term.
Late last week, the Republican elaborated on this point, promising to establish a task force that would help keep “woke generals” out of the Defense Department.
The former president has lashed out at generals before, but this was new. Trump apparently envisions a system in which U.S. military leaders will be subjected to some kind of ideological review, in which members of a task force — whose members will presumably be appointed by Trump — will go about assessing the generals’ and admirals’ personal attitudes.
Those deemed “woke” will apparently see their military careers curtailed.
What could possibly go wrong?
