'Absolutely detestable': Retired generals sound alarm over Trump admin policy

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on, with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick standing by his side, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 19, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

Former generals are sounding the alarm over the Trump administration’s recent expansion of the National Guard’s domestic role, saying it could undermine the Guard’s morale, recruiting, public standing, and constitutional norms.

In a report published Sunday, the New York Timesquoted leaders with long service under both Republican and Democratic administrations, who say they support efforts to reduce violent crime, but believe that sending Guard troops into cities for law enforcement and civil unrest duties poses serious risks.

Brig. Gen. Paul G. Smith, former assistant adjutant general in Massachusetts, told The Times that the Guard has long been seen as “the good guys,” working in disasters and emergencies, “fishing families out of flood waters,” or shoveling ambulances through snow.

He added, “patrolling the monuments, creating this sort of military net that’s descended on these urban areas — that’s not something a lot of people signed up for.”

Maj. Gen. William Enyart, former adjutant general of Illinois, said: “The military is designed to fight external enemies, not citizens.”

Maj. Gen. Randy E. Manner, retired acting vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, called Trump’s decision to deploy Guard troops in D.C. an attempt to “intimidate the local population,” saying such deployments politicize the force.

He added that using the military to police American citizens “is the beginning of a divide between our military and our citizens, and that is absolutely detestable.”

General Enyart told the publication: “These are all really disincentives for retention, for morale, for recruiting,” and contrasted the traditional missions of disaster relief and overseas deployment with what he sees as “fulfilling a president’s political desires.”

The former generals also warned that deploying the Guard in law enforcement roles without state consent violates constitutional norms and the Posse Comitatus principle.

Brig. Gen. David L. McGinnis described deployments over governors’ objections as being “outside the constitutional box.” Others believe risk is increased when federal orders override state authority.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré warned of the danger if things go wrong: “Because when it goes bad — like Kent State — it goes bad,” he said, referencing the 1970 incident when National Guard troops fatally shot four students.

He continued: “We want to make sure we’re on the side of saving lives, not taking lives in America.”

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