Donald Trump’s attack on members of Congress who served in the military for advising those currently serving not to follow illegal orders could have a ripple effect that blows up on him, an expert warned Tuesday.
During an appearance on MS NOW, longtime Washington D.C. observer John Heilemann suggested the president may face a reckoning now that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is going after Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a popular former Navy pilot and astronaut.
Speaking with the hosts on “Morning Joe,” Heileman made the case that it is only a matter of time before retired and active duty military personnel turn on the president, whose popularity is already slipping.
Admitting that he was stunned that Hegseth is focusing on Kelly, he added that it could be the straw that broke the camel’s back within the military ranks.
“The question for me is, when do we get to the point where active duty senior military officials start to speak up, because they have kept quiet?” he told the panel.
“When Trump gave speeches at Fort Bragg and West Point, a lot of them were upset about it because they were so partisan and political.”
“They have kept quiet in the face of the discussions of sending in the military to a place like Chicago and Los Angeles and other places, but I think there's a moment that's coming, and I think a lot of people in the military recognize this, where not just retired, but where current active duty senior military who are clearly, quietly troubled by everything that's going on with this, are going to face a moment of truth where they're either going to have to speak up, or they're going to have to end up obeying orders that are at least questionably legal and possibly blatantly illegal.”
“That's going to be a big moment in this country. We haven't seen anything like that from activeduty military speaking out publicly, really, in our lifetimes,” he reminded the panel.