A new report has claimed that there was a calculated effort to control the optics of President Donald Trump's visit to Fort Bragg, North Carolina on Tuesday, with selective screening of soldiers for both political views and physical appearance.
In his address, Trump targeted California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), former President Joe Biden and the media, urging military personnel to boo reporters in attendance as he lashed out at what he called "fake news."
The president's action of inciting active-duty soldiers to boo those he sees as his opponents was strongly criticized as a move that could politicize the military.
A Military.com report published Wednesday has revealed some even more noteworthy details regarding the event. It claims that soldiers were handpicked for the event based on their political leanings, with one message explicitly warning, “If soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don't want to be in the audience then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out.”
The guidelines extended to physical appearance as well, with one internal communication bluntly stating: "No fat soldiers."
Adding to the controversy, a pro-Trump merchandise shop reportedly operated on the Army base, selling campaign memorabilia, including "Make America Great Again" necklaces and "White Privilege Card: Trumps Everything" faux credit cards.
Such partisan merchandise on military property raised questions about potential violations of Department of Defense regulations designed to maintain political neutrality in the armed forces.
Military veterans have strongly reacted to these actions, calling them "dangerous."
Paul Rieckhoff, a veteran of the United States Army and the Iraq War, wrote on the social platform X: "It keeps getting worse. These are dangerous and unprecedented moves. He’s broken glass that’s never been broken before. We’re all less safe for it."
Former U.S. national security official Adham Sahloul commented on a quote from the story, tweeting: "'This has been a bad week for the Army for anyone who cares about us being a neutral institution,' one commander at Fort Bragg told Military.com." Bad week for America."
John Jackson, an American veteran of the Ukrainian armed forces, wrote: "This is bad. I wonder what 'appearance' characteristics they were looking for. And where in the hell are the commanders who allowed this?"
READ MORE: 'Cannot change': 38 House Republicans send ultimatum to Senate GOPJournalist Jay Bookman wrote: "Read the story. It's disgusting. There's just no one capable of telling these people no."
Orlando J. Pérez, a professor of Political Science wrote: "To use soldiers as political backdrop undermines the institutional legitimacy of the armed forces because it erodes the political neutrality of the military. This is another dangerous step toward democratic backsliding."
"We are approximately six months away from Trump demanding US soldiers to take a « Trump Oath », Wehrmacht-style," remarked Olivier Schmitt, a professor of Military Operations.