President Donald Trump says that he will tell a gathering of US generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia, that they are cherished leaders who need to be strong and tough.
Hundreds of generals and admirals, senior commanders of the one-star rank or higher and their top advisers, have been summoned by United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth from all over the world to the Marine Corps base with little notice.
“I want to tell the generals that we love them; they’re cherished leaders; to be strong, be tough and be smart and be compassionate,” Trump told the Reuters news agency in an interview.
“That’s all that is, esprit de corps. It’s about time somebody did that,” he added.
Trump’s attendance could overshadow Hegseth, who was expected to discuss the need to adhere to a “warrior ethos” throughout the military, and could touch on other areas. The US has troops around the world, including in distant locations like South Korea, Japan and across the Middle East, which are commanded by two-, three- and four-star generals and admirals.
Trump told NBC News in an interview on Sunday that people attending the meeting would be “talking about how well we’re doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things.”
News about the summit was first reported on Thursday, with no reason initially provided for the unusual gathering.
Trump did not initially appear to be aware of it when first asked by reporters during an Oval Office appearance.
“I’ll be there if they want me, but why is it such a big deal?” Trump asked.
Trump’s participation in the meeting raises the likelihood of a politicised event in front of a nonpartisan audience of military leaders.
For example, he delivered campaign-style remarks to uniformed personnel at Fort Bragg in North Carolina in June, attacking his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
The Republican president is also expanding his use of the military in US cities, arguing that it is necessary to fight crime in places where he says Democratic leaders are failing to ensure public safety.
The National Guard continues to patrol in the District of Columbia, and a smaller deployment is expected in Memphis, Tennessee.
On Saturday, Trump also authorised sending troops to Portland, Oregon, to protect against “domestic terrorists”.
Over the objections of local and state officials, Trump previously sent the National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles, where there were protests against immigration raids.
By law, the National Guard can generally only be deployed at a state governor’s request, and there are ongoing lawsuits in California as well as Washington, DC, over the deployment of troops.
The Pentagon’s top spokesman has previously confirmed that Hegseth “will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week”.
Across the military, there are 800 generals and admirals of all ranks. Many command thousands of service members, and are stationed across the world in more than a dozen countries and time zones.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has made a number of changes since taking office, including renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War and asking journalists covering the Pentagon to pledge not to publish unauthorised information.
Trump has also recently ordered air strikes on ships departing Venezuela, killing at least 17 people in three attacks, with reports that the US is considering attacking inside the South American country.
The US military has also launched attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and Yemen since Trump took office, while the Trump administration continues to provide support to its ally, Israel, for its war on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
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