The tanks rolled into Washington, D.C. today as President Trump pushes for a heavy military presence on the National Mall for the 4th of July.
The patriotic event, though, is proving to be a problem for the U.S. military’s top brass who must navigate the intense partisan squabbling the event has generated.
“Both sides are gearing for battle and fighting for the carcass of the U.S. military, which is stuck in the middle,” said Peter Feaver, who helped oversee military policy in the George W. Bush White House.
More than any president in modern history, Trump has ignored norms intended to keep the armed forces out of partisan fights.
He has dispatched U.S. troops to the southern border and even suggested that it would be acceptable for them to open fire on unarmed migrants — a violation of the laws of war.
He has tweeted orders at top generals in a brazen end run around the traditional chain of command and regularly refers to America’s fighting forces as “my military.”
His speeches to military audiences, such as service academy graduations, have been filled with partisan broadsides and false statements.
Trump’s July 4 celebration, which he’s calling a “Salute to America,” has elevated his norm-defying behavior.
The celebration will include flyovers by U.S. fighter jets, fireworks, tanks brought in from Fort Benning, Ga., and a speech by Trump at the Lincoln Memorial.
Military service men atop a tank near the Lincoln Memorial.
A tank parked near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Trump personally requested the tanks for the traditionally bipartisan 4th of July event.
The stage for Trump’s remarks have blocked off the Lincoln Memorial for the 4th of July.
Democrats complained that the martial display was designed primarily to glorify Trump and described it as a taxpayer-funded campaign rally.
The White House has doled out VIP tickets to the Republican National Committee and big campaign donors.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.).
The military brass have reacted to the partisan squabbling by hiding out and hoping it all blows over.
Pentagon officials have declined to provide details about the tanks, planes and other military hardware requested by the administration, referring all questions about the event to the White House.
Senior officers should not disobey legal orders from their commander in chief, said Loren DeJonge Schulman, a former Obama administration official.
“But if the military chiefs judge this a poor use of resources or a drain on readiness . . . they should openly say so to the president,” Schulman said. “They should feel no compunction about respectfully saying so in public or to Congress.”
So far, Trump has spoken for his generals, saying that they are “thrilled” to be taking part in his celebration.
Schulman said that military leaders should not let Trump “imply that they support this circus. . . . They shouldn’t let the president use and abuse their image politically without any hint of a correction.”
Normally, the civilian defense secretary would raise these sorts of concerns with the president, but the Trump administration has not had a Senate-confirmed secretary since Jim Mattis resigned several months ago. In late June,
Trump said he would nominate Army Secretary Mark T. Esper to lead the Pentagon.
“Having a secretary of defense up there would be awesome because he can say, ‘Let’s not put the military chiefs up there like potted plants,’ ” said retired Army Lt. Col. Jason Dempsey, who served in Afghanistan and taught political science at the United States Military Academy.
For now, though, the most prominent voices in the Pentagon are all in uniform.
And those generals, clad in their four-star finery, are expected to be standing beside Trump at the Lincoln Memorial when fighter jets streak across the sky and the president delivers his speech.