Soldiers react to Trump at Fort Bragg in North Carolina on June 10. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty)
As a July 4th bonus for subscribers, today we’re publishing a Q&A with political commentator and retired Army officer Fred Wellman about Trump’s politicization of the military and the break it represents with American traditions.
“As a retired military officer, seeing the kids yukking it up and cheering made me sad,” Wellman told us, referring to the political rally Trump recently held in front of the troops at Fort Bragg. “It’s a testament to the Army leadership’s failure to put their foot down, and it’s just another example of Donald Trump having no respect for the actual values of the United States military.”
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com
TRUMP: Los Angeles would be burning today, just like their houses were burning months ago. Generations of Army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion ... as commander in chief, I will not let that happen
FORT BRAGG TROOPS: *Hurrrraa!*
“When you have a president so obviously and blatantly twisting the military and portraying it as his military or one that supports his political beliefs, it’s a very dangerous, slippery slope,” Wellman added. “At some point, will we be able to trust our military to represent all Americans, or just MAGA Americans?”
And an added bonus for Public Notice readers who aren’t yet paid subscribers, here’s a special holiday offer: Click the button below to sign up for Public Notice for the special rate of just $40 annually.
A paid subscription gets you full access to everything we publish (including the Q&A with Fred), commenting privileges, access to Q&As and chats with me, and other perks. But perhaps most importantly, paid subscribers make the newsletter possible and keep the vast majority of what we publish free for everyone. Public Notice is 100 percent reader-funded.
Without further ado, what follows is a transcript of the conversation between Wellman and Public Notice contributor Thor Benson, lightly edited for length and clarity.
Thor Benson...
Continue reading this post for free in the Substack app
