Directives for the Army audience at President Donald Trump’s speech at Fort Bragg on Tuesday included one frank line: “No fat soldiers.”
Attendees were also given the option to not be in the audience at all if they disagree with the Trump administration, Military.com reported.
“If soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don’t want to be in the audience then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out,” read the unit-level note to troops in the 82nd Airborne Division.
In his speech, which on paper was meant to mark the Army’s 250th birthday, Trump unleashed blatantly political attacks on former President Joe Biden, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The criticisms were met with agreement from the audience, in the form of booing, in what Military.com called a “a shocking and rare public display of troops taking part in naked political partisanship.”
The outlet said service officials declined to comment on whether any potential discipline for booing—or cheering—soldiers was in store.
One commander at Fort Bragg—the name of which Trump restored earlier this year—anonymously called the event “shameful.”
“This has been a bad week for the Army for anyone who cares about us being a neutral institution,” the person said. “This was shameful. I don’t expect anything to come out of it, but I hope maybe we can learn from it long term.”
An 82nd Airborne noncommissioned officer said, “I bet none of those soldiers booing even know the mayor’s name or could identify them in a lineup; they’re nonexistent in the chain of command.” They added: “So, any opinion they could possibly have can only be attributed to expressing a political view while in uniform.”
Yet Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell didn’t see an issue.
“Believe me, no one needs to be encouraged to boo the media,” he said in a statement to Military.com. “Look no further than this query, which is nothing more than a disgraceful attempt to ruin the lives of young soldiers.”
Another problematic occurrence Tuesday was the selling of pro-Trump items and apparel on Army property, which “likely” violates Defense Department regulations, Military.com noted.
Parnell did not address this issue when asked.
Trump’s speech wasn’t the only instance in which the optics of soldiers near him was front-of-mind.
In 2019, Trump reportedly told then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley during a welcome ceremony for injured Army captain Luis Avila that “no one wants to see” wounded soldiers.
A few years prior, Trump also reportedly said that he didn’t want “wounded guys” in his planned military parade in Washington, D.C., which ended up being scrapped.
This Saturday’s costly parade, purportedly to honor the Army’s 250th anniversary, is on Flag Day, which is also Trump’s birthday.
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