President Donald Trump addressed hundreds of senior U.S. military officials Tuesday in Virginia, speaking for more than an hour — though some critics are sounding the alarm on what appeared to be a “quieter and more confused” delivery “than usual.”
“The president talked at length, and his comments should have confirmed to even the most sympathetic observer that he is, as the kids say, not okay,” wrote Tom Nichols in an analysis published Tuesday night in The Atlantic.
“Several of [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth’s people said in advance of the senior-officer conclave that its goal was to energize America’s top military leaders and get them to focus on Hegseth’s vision for a new Department of War. But the generals and admirals should be forgiven if they walked out of the auditorium and wondered: what on earth is wrong with the commander in chief?”
Trump’s “bizarre ramble” Tuesday immediately generated a response from veterans and experts alike, with historian Paul Cohen calling it a “truly significant turning point” in Trump’s presidency. Others, like retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, called it “offensive” and “insulting.”
But it was Trump’s frequent “awkward” moments, Nichols wrote, that made the president’s military address stand out from past moments of his presidency, an address that he uncharacteristically appeared “unprepared” for.
A few minutes into his speech, Trump invited the largely silent audience of senior military officials to applaud, a request reminiscent of Jeb Bush’s infamous “please clap” moment during the 2016 presidential race.
“Just have a good time, and if you want to applaud, you applaud,” Trump said. “And if you want to do anything you want, you can do anything you want. And if you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room. Of course, there goes your rank; there goes your future.”
For the next hour, Trump would go on to hit familiar talking points frequently heard at his political rallies; bragging about the renamed “Gulf of America,” championing his strike on Iran, and criticising former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
While not unusual topics for Trump to speak to at length, the context of the remarks being given to top military officials, coupled with his “quieter and more confused” delivery “than usual,” Nichols argued it may very well jeopardize America’s military preparedness, and the confidence of the military’s top brass.
“In 1973, an Air Force nuclear-missile officer named Harold Hering asked a simple question during a training session: ‘how can I know that an order I receive to launch my missiles came from a sane president?’” Nichols wrote.
“The question cost him his career. Military members are trained to execute orders, not question them. But today, both the man who can order the use of nuclear arms and the man who would likely verify such an order gave disgraceful and unnerving performances in Quantico. How many officers left the room asking themselves Major Hering’s question?”