Trump Losing Respect With the Brass

In spite of a record defense budget ($740 billion), President Trump is losing respect from the Pentagon leaders that he directly commands. One can see the discomfort in military commanders standing behind him in his recent Soleimani press conference. The stress reflects his activities against advice, such as his impulsive withdrawal from Syria, which cost him a Secretary of Defense; clemency for accused military war criminals, which lost a Navy Secretary; his threats to seize Syrian oil and bomb Iranian cultural sites; and a myriad of explanations of the Soleimani “imminent threat.”

President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House on the
ballistic missile strike that Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing
U.S. troops, as Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Vice President Mike Pence,
and others look on, Jan. 8, 2020 | Evan Vucci/AP Photo