October 19, 2019

He fetishized the military but the generals have had it with feckless, reckless Trump
Gen Mattis’s skewering of the president is to be savoured but military discontent is not the bellwether of a true resistance‘Donald Trump dreams of parading armies down the streets of Washington. He exalts men with weapons the way football fans deify their favorite quarterbacks.’ Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPADonald Trump, like all strongmen, fetishizes military might. He dreams of parading armies down the streets of Washington. He exalts men with weapons the way football fans deify their favorite quarterbacks.Generals have always occupied a special place in Trump’s psyche. “General Mattis is a strong, highly dignified man,” Trump said in 2016, shortly before he tapped Jim Mattis to be his defense secretary. “You know he’s known as Mad Dog Mattis, right? Mad Dog for a reason.”The generals, though, are through with him. Mattis, no longer defense secretary, ridiculed Trump on Thursday night for dodging the Vietnam war and obsessing over fast food. The quips came after an infuriated Trump, on the defensive after Republicans and Democrats joined forces to condemn him for withdrawing troops from Syria, called Mattis the world’s most “overrated” general.“I have earned my spurs on the battlefield,” Mattis said. “Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from his doctor.”“The only person in the military Mr Trump does not feel is overrated,” he added, was Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC.William McRaven, a retired four-star navy admiral who led the US special operations command under George W Bush and Barack Obama, piled on Friday in a scathing New York Times op-ed, criticizing Trump for abandoning the Kurds in Syria. “If our promises are meaningless, how will our allies ever trust us?” he wrote. “If we can’t have faith in our nation’s principles, why would the men and women of this nation join the military?”It must be embarrassing for a president to be so thoroughly rebuked by those he formerly worshiped. Trump is far from losing the Republican party, which now belongs entirely to him, but he has successfully shattered the link between the GOP and the traditional foreign policy establishment. Now facing impeachment, Trump has suddenly lent hawks like Lindsey Graham and Mitt Romney a rationale for one day voting against him.This does not mean his presidency is imperiled. And it does not mean that Trump’s approach to foreign policy, too feckless to be regarded as doveish or even isolationist, should be scrapped for what Graham or the generals desire, which is more war, forever war, troops marching through ravaged nations until the end of the century and beyond.Trump, in his own peculiar way, has a native instinct that resists the most violent impulses of his party. He has lied about his initial opposition to the Iraq war but is one of the only prominent Republicans who continues to condemn the myopic interventionism that once dominated both the Republican and Democratic foreign policy establishments. But unlike, say, Bernie Sanders, who offers a robust vision for a world where America no longer plays policeman with nukes, Trump has no workable alternative. His impulses are authoritarian – I alone can fix it – and ultimately reckless.Progressives shouldn’t root for a soft-style military junta, either, as some on the left are wont to do. The generals need less power, not more. It was Trump who, through the recruitment of Mattis and the former White House chief of staff John Kelly, uncomfortably merged domestic and military affairs. The generals, in turn, saw the madness up close.We can enjoy the turn of the generals, just as we can hope a Republican party currently cowed by Trump finds the courage to snuff him out. Of course, unlike Republican politicians, the generals do not have to be accountable to Trump’s ravenous base, the voters who may just keep him around for a second term. They can afford to ignore Fox News. For these facts alone, they cannot be regarded as bellwethers of a true resistance. We can only take comfort in Mattis’ quips and move on.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Ruby Franke’s Husband REVEALS Alleged Rules He Had to Follow at Home | E! News
March 28, 2024
_mU-3lE2QwI
#KenanThompson speaks out following the #QuietonSet documentary. (🎥: Tamron Hall Show) #shorts
March 28, 2024
8AGP-Gfw_Ek
King Charles Shares "Great Sadness" at Missing Royal Appearance | E! News
March 28, 2024
lyizFqf1kQY
Martha Reeves Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 27, 2024
QzyezumEPtQ
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
Montell Jordan Dishes On Young MC Wedding, 'This Is How Date Night' Plans | TMZ
March 28, 2024
G3SMExj-qio
Davina Potratz Says TV Not Helping 'Selling Sunset' Relationship Woes | TMZ
March 28, 2024
D4piy4GNm4k
Logan Paul Rips Graham Bensinger Over Documentary, You Promised Apple TV+ | TMZ Live
March 28, 2024
NiSDpZhZklQ
Prince William pinned royal medal to Spice Girl Mel B’s boobs #shorts
March 28, 2024
O1cQ0UW9pco
Jennifer Garner shares ‘hard’ part of raising her and Ben Affleck’s kids
March 28, 2024
3Q7mZaVUdgc
50 Cent's ex Daphne Joy named as an alleged sex worker in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuit #shorts
March 28, 2024
yhLFI8DG9rM
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
PSG W - Hacken W
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Barcelona W - SK Brann W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Chelsea W - Ajax W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Lyon W - SL Benfica W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.