U.S. National Guard members walk at the D.C. Armory after U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement to deploy the National Guard and federalize the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling warned that the soldiers that are being sent to Washington, D.C, are "going to be a little bit p---ed off" as they are deployed to stand around in the heat and humidity of the late summer.
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace began her Tuesday show addressing President Donald Trump's deployment of soldiers and federal officers to "fight crime" in the District.
The former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall warned of Trump, "I don't think there was any boundary on what this person is capable of doing."
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper recalled during Trump's first term that the president wanted protesters to be shot by the military.
"I think we need to be very concerned about the pattern we're seeing here. And I think, quite frankly, the American people are being conditioned to accept the president's use of the military the way he is here in Washington now. And I think we're going to see a lot more of this over the next 3 1/2 years," said Kendall.
But it was Hertling who talked about the morale of the soldiers. While Trump may be twisting the psychology of the American people, it's hitting the troops just as much.
"I just looked at the temperature in D.C, it's 89 degrees right now with 70% humidity. That's a great look when you put a bunch of soldiers in kit and helmet, standing around doing nothing, and a mission that they really don't know what it's all about," he said with sarcasm.
"Of that 600, you're going to have all sorts of political persuasions in that group," said Hertling. "Because the great thing about our military is that they recruit from the citizens of our country. So they're going to be pro-Trump, anti-Trump. Some of them may have been working in the federal government and laid off by DOGE. So they're going to be a little bit p---ed off."
Hertling said that there will be many National Guard soldiers who have day jobs that they'll be forced to leave to walk around Washington.
"There are going to be some who are going to be asked to do things. If they are asked to do things that they know are not right, the leaders can stand before them and say, 'Hey, that's an illegal order. We can't do that,'" he continued. "But when you put an 18 or 20-year-old caught between hearing someone say, 'This is what you're supposed to do,' and their commander saying, 'No, no, no, that's an illegal order, you put people in very bad positions."
He harkened back to Esper's comment about shooting citizens in the legs.
"I've got to tell you, there are no soldiers that I have ever worked with that would actually do that. They think that's crazy," he also said.
See the clip below or at the link here.