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No authoritarian leader or would-be dictator has previously gathered the entire senior military leadership of their armed forces in a single location to demean them as incompetent and embarrass them for their slovenly personal appearance, while degrading whole classes serving in the army, navy and air force as lesser and undeserving.

The former president is accustomed to entering gatherings with energetic crowds cheering to music. "I have never walked into a room so silent before," he remarked when addressing the nation's highest-ranking military commanders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico. "Don't laugh. Don't know if you're allowed to do that." He tried to elicit some laughter, an vintage entertainment technique to energize a unresponsive audience. "Listen up, Just enjoy yourselves."

His syllogism perfectly encapsulated his psychology of victimhood and approach of retribution. Should you do not bend the knee to him, he is deeply wounded. The failure to worship him deserves to be punished. Your slight of his majesty condemns you to ruin.

Armed Forces Professionalism vs. Partisan Expectations

The speaker fails to understand that the silence of the military leaders during his extraordinary speech to them demonstrated their ultimate duty. Their composure showed fidelity to maintain their oath to the constitution. Through their calm they represented themselves as models for the rest of the military leadership and the service members.

They aren't devoted to any individual or any cult of personality, but to his legal position.

They were being used as a background for a campaign-like rally, but they were resistant to acting as partisan players.

Basic Misunderstanding

His failure to understand their stolidity in the presence of his provocations showed his incomprehension not only of the armed forces but the executive office under the legal system. When he took offense at their stoney silence his rebuke made clear that he viewed them simply as his tools.

Trump had come on an urgent task for them to execute. His purpose to inform the military chiefs they were to be his obedient agents for the greatest change of defense policy since the "anti-terrorism campaign" – an unprecedented conflict to be waged against his viewed domestic rivals at home in contravention of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which forbids the internal deployment of the US military as a law enforcement agency.

Context and Presidential Actions

Every high-ranking military leaders had been gathered for the unprecedented event at the Marine Corps Base Quantico on the directive of the defense chief. They had no inkling for what significant occasion they were being summoned. They wouldn't theorize that they were being brought to be a captive audience for a self-referential ego-driven presentation attempting to rehabilitate his reputation and establish his power.

However the military leaders could have obtained more than a clue that they were being rounded up for the most recent episode of political drama by reviewing the executive order Labeling Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization, an "organization" that lacks formal structure. This was followed included a National Security Presidential Memorandum citing multiple events as justifications: "These incidents is not a series of unconnected incidents and does not emerge organically.

Ideological Framework

According to the directive, a new "national strategy" would be enacted against an belief system of "anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; advocacy of the removal of the federal government; extremism on immigration, ethnicity, and gender; and opposition towards those who hold traditional American views on family structure, religion, and ethics."

These vapors were not a description of an ideology so much as a hodgepodge of political shibboleths. If there were ideology expressed it was an inchoate fascism based on a repressive impulse that created an universal opponent called "the opposition".

Defense Secretary's Presentation

The dramatic display at Quantico started with the defense secretary darting back and forth on the stage. He was a motivational speaker as a military instructor with a book to hawk – and a warm-up act for the main speaker.

The former national guard officer said he had been "considered an radical"; he was identified as a possible "insider threat" by colleagues. Despite numerous reports of his drinking issues, he told media in an conversation: "I never had a drinking problem," but then allegedly assured a senator that he would "not touch alcohol while I have this position."

Procedural Modifications and Contentious Remarks

As a television host, the defense secretary had been a prominent advocate for forgiving or showing mercy to service members accused or found guilty of military offenses. He described them as "fighters" rather than "offenders".

Currently, in his address, he announced he was removing "unnecessary elements". He encouraged loosening rules aimed at preventing forbidden violence within the armed forces. He announced the "restructuring" of the oversight and informant reporting system, which would weaken safeguards and protect violent or reckless offenders from accountability.

He planned to, he said, impose discriminatory measures of "unisex" or "masculine standard" fitness requirements for combat roles, stating: "Should it result that no females qualify for some combat jobs, that's acceptable."

Confrontational Rhetoric and Service Reaction

The speaker swaggered in front of the commanders, shouting vulgar language – "Fafo", or explicit language. "No more heritage observances, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. End climate change worship. Stop separation, distraction or identity issues. No more debris. As I stated before and will say again, we are done with that nonsense."

The generals sat without reaction at his crude language that could be charged under the Uniform Military Code of Justice as a infraction against indecent language that "fails to the prejudice of proper conduct and military standards".

Physical Standards and Individual Observations

Per the defense chief, it was the out-of-shape generals who required to work out following his example. "It's completely improper to see fat generals and admirals in the corridors of the Pentagon and overseeing operations around the country and the globe. It's a bad look," he said. "No more facial hair."

Concluding Observations and Political Background

Not once did the defense secretary mention "the Russian Federation" or "the Ukrainian nation". He made not the slightest reference to Russia's huge missile attacks striking Ukraine, Russian unmanned aircraft over European nations, the strained relations over US uncertainty within the international coalition, or express anything that might be interpreted as a strategic thought.

After his menacing speech, the defense secretary stepped aside for the president. Trump displayed his customary contempt for the armed forces by provoking them with an array of political insults to which they remained completely unresponsive.

During the course of his stream of consciousness, he introduced his new objective for the armed forces against the "enemy from within", with major American cities as the "preparation areas … the ones that are run by the radical-left Democrats … And this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room. That's a war, too. It's a war from within." No response.