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Maddow Blog-Trump plays a radical game by personally screening nominees for four-star generals
“Trump is steadily poisoning the nonpartisan apolitical nature of the military’s leadership," one historian noted.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-plays-radical-game-personally-screening-nominees-four-star-gener-rcna221913
Ordinarily, when U.S. military leaders are being considered for a fourth star, they meet with the defense secretary at the Pentagon discuss their future and possible promotion. But with growing questions about Secretary Pete Hegseth and the degree to which he’s calling the shots at the DOD, The New York Times reported on a different model in the current administration.
While the Times’ reporting has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, the White House effectively confirmed the story. “President Trump wants to ensure our military is the greatest and most lethal fighting force in history, which is why he meets with four-star-general nominees directly to ensure they are war fighters first — not bureaucrats,” a White House spokesperson told the Times,,,,,
Darin Self, a political scientist at Brigham Young University, added, “You don’t need a scholar of authoritarianism and the military like me to tell you this does not produce good outcomes.”
There’s a growing body of evidence to suggest the White House is blurring the lines between partisan politics and the country’s armed forces, and the more these efforts advance, the more dangerous it becomes to our constitutional system of government.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has begun requiring that nominees for four-star-general positions meet with President Trump before their nominations are finalized, in a departure from past practice, said three current and former U.S. officials. The move, though within Mr. Trump’s remit as commander in chief, has raised worries about the possible politicization of the military’s top ranks by a president who has regularly flouted norms intended to insulate the military from partisan disputes.
While the Times’ reporting has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, the White House effectively confirmed the story. “President Trump wants to ensure our military is the greatest and most lethal fighting force in history, which is why he meets with four-star-general nominees directly to ensure they are war fighters first — not bureaucrats,” a White House spokesperson told the Times,,,,,
Darin Self, a political scientist at Brigham Young University, added, “You don’t need a scholar of authoritarianism and the military like me to tell you this does not produce good outcomes.”
There’s a growing body of evidence to suggest the White House is blurring the lines between partisan politics and the country’s armed forces, and the more these efforts advance, the more dangerous it becomes to our constitutional system of government.
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