'No modern precedent' for Trump’s blatant push to politicize the military

Members of the military attend a meeting convened by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Quantico, Virginia, U.S., September 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Past U.S. presidents, both Democratic and Republican, sounded much different at military gatherings than they did at campaign events. When addressing members of the U.S. Armed Forces, they were careful to avoid the type of overtly partisan comments they typically made during campaign speeches.

But MS NOW's Steve Benen, in an opinion column published on February 16, warns that President Donald Trump is ramping up his push to overtly politicize the military.

"When the Republican meanders his way through partisan red meat when speaking at a political rally," Benen explains, "it's tiresome but predictable. When he delivers the same message to active-duty military personnel, it's a qualitatively different kind of story."

Benen cites specific examples of Trump bringing partisan politics to speeches in military settings.

"The president, speaking at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, seemed especially focused on the state's U.S. Senate race, condemning the leading Democratic candidate, former Gov. Roy Cooper, while touting the likely GOP nominee, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who shared the stage with Trump during the on-base political rally," Benen notes. "'You have to vote for us,' Trump told the troops, referring to his party and the 2026 midterm elections. There is no modern precedent for any American president engaging in such radical politicking with active-duty servicemembers, though over the last several months, it's become a more common sight."

The "Rachel Maddow Show" producer continues, "In June, for example, Trump also spoke at Fort Bragg and treated U.S. troops like they were just another MAGA audience, even goading troops to boo Joe Biden, the free press and American elected officials whom the president doesn't like."

Benen points out that during an event celebrating the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary, Trump declared, "We have to take care of this little gnat that's on our shoulder called the Democrats."

"An apolitical military is a foundational, bedrock principle of the United States," Benen writes. "Partisan, ideological and electoral considerations must be utterly irrelevant to what the military is and how it functions. It is nevertheless a principle for which Trump appears to have no use, creating an untenable dynamic."

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