1/2/19
President Donald Trump is at war with the generals. The latest salvo in that war came on New Year's morning -- not traditionally a time for recrimination -- in a presidential tweet that denigrated retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Trump tweeted, "'General' McChrystal got fired like a dog by Obama. Last assignment a total bust. Known for big, dumb mouth. Hillary lover!" This tweet followed an interview that McChrystal gave to ABC's Martha Raddatz on Sunday in which he described Trump as both immoral and dishonest. Trump is known for being a counter-puncher, so on one level it's not surprising he reacted this way to McChrystal's withering criticism. But when you step back, the degree to which Trump is battling America's generals is startling, considering how he began his presidency. Trump came into office besotted by military brass, appointing retired four star Gen. James Mattis as his secretary of defense, retired four star Gen. John Kelly as his secretary of homeland security and later chief of staff, and retired three star Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn as his national security adviser. After Flynn was forced out of the White House, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster assumed the role of national security adviser. Now, two years later, Trump is eager to tear down the generals.
The differences between Trump and US military leaders are more than simply stylistic, although Trump's lack of decorum and rudeness are certainly at odds with the military's honor-based values. The military tends to want to sustain overseas military commitments, which they see as vital to securing world order, whether that is to defeat ISIS, or to contain a nuclear-armed North Korea, or to prevent Afghanistan from reverting into control by the Taliban. Trump believes he was elected to end foreign entanglements and that alliances like NATO are "ripping off" the United States, while US military leaders are keenly aware that NATO allies have been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with them since the 9/11 attacks. The policy differences between Trump and the military were underlined by Mattis's resignation, which came as a result of Trump announcing a total withdrawal of the 2,000 US troops in Syria. Mattis appears to have resigned because this decision was made in an arbitrary way and without consulting allies. Trump has now made a sharp break with Kelly, Mattis, McChrystal, McRaven, and McMaster, some of the leading American generals and admirals of our era. Why Trump, even given his policy disagreements, would pick a war with the military leaders he once so publicly admired is a puzzle that future historians will surely try to unpack.