Former Naval War College professor Tom Nichols delivered a blistering assessment of President Donald in an interview Tuesday, arguing that the president's latest attacks on Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to defy illegal orders have nothing to do with national security – and everything to do with Trump’s character.
Nichols said Tuesday on MS NOW that Trump is “intimidated by anyone who exhibits any kind of virtue, any kind of commitment to selfless service, any kind of loyalty to something bigger than themselves.” He went on to tell “Deadline: White House” host Nicolle Wallace that Trump, “as a narcissist,” is psychologically incapable of understanding why people act from principle rather than personal gain.
“It just doesn't compute for him,” he added. “He literally can't parse the thought that people do things for, as a matter of principle, as service to others, as self-sacrifice,” Nichols said, recalling Trump’s infamous visit to Arlington National Cemetery, where he allegedly asked, “What was in it for them?”
“And I think places like Arlington Cemetery and people like Mark Kelly or John Kelly or Jim Mattis or others, they make him uncomfortable because they're a constant reminder of everything he is not,” the Atlantic writer and former professor said.
The stinging analysis comes after several Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), urged active duty service members to defy unlawful orders in a video that sparked outrage from the president, who went on to accuse the lawmakers of “seditious behavior” and threatened to execute them.