Adam Watson (00:00)
Welcome back to “Simplifying the State,” the podcast where we break down politics so you don’t have to try to figure out why the president posted an AI video of himself dressed as a grim reaper playing a cowbell. As always, I’m Adam Watson.

Drew (00:13)
And I’m Drew Garfinkle.

Adam Watson (00:15)
So Nicholas is not here today, so it looks like it’s just going to be you and me today, Drew. All right. So today we’re going to be talking about Trump’s speech to the generals, which got a lot of press, and sort of how that connects to a broader topic of the politicizing of the military—also how he is using the military in the second term.

But before we get into that, if you would be so kind as to rate us and follow the podcast wherever you are listening, as well as share it with anyone you think would enjoy it—such as friends, family, or just a random person you see at Shaw Park.

Okay, so last week, before the government shut down, the president, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, gave a rally-style speech to a bunch of generals and high-ranking military officials at a military base in Quantico, Va.

The defense secretary talked about how they would be altering military standards, saying there would be “no more beardos,” and discussed new physical requirements for the military. Then Trump came out, and I’m not sure if you read the transcript, but he basically gave a political rally to these generals.

He basically just did what he would have done at one of his traditional rallies, which is kind of what he’s been doing almost every time he talks to anyone—it feels like a political rally. The U.N. speech felt like one of his political rallies, but that’s a whole other topic. So, Drew, what were your thoughts on Trump’s speech and what he talked about?

Drew (01:58)
I’m kind of just confused. I don’t know why he’s talking to these leaders like they’re his MAGA supporters. Like, he needs to be saying, “We’re going to do all this,” like it felt like you said. I didn’t think of it like that, but it kind of felt like he was on the campaign trail trying to convince them of something.

Adam Watson (02:17)
Yeah, he used a lot of conservative buzzwords. And then he seemed like he was waiting for applause, which none of the generals really gave him. But he also talked about something I think is really important—aside from the fact that he’s summoning all these generals for a political rally. He talked about directing the military to basically go after—

Drew (02:41)
Yeah.

Adam Watson (02:41)
What he calls the enemy within.

Drew (02:41)
The enemy from within, yeah.

Adam Watson (02:44)
Yeah, there’s a “new war with the enemy from within.” He talked about using American cities as training grounds for the military, which is a little concerning. What did you think of those comments, and what do you interpret that to mean?

Drew (03:04)
I interpret it as people who oppose him, like Democrats or liberals. I think he’s just kind of saying that he’s talking about people in the U.S., like citizens who are the enemy. He’s saying, “Okay, these people who live here, who have lived here—they’re the problem,” which is problematic.

Adam Watson (03:26)
Right. Yeah. I mean, I think it was really concerning and dangerous, because when you have the president of the United States talking to the highest-ranking leaders of our military and saying the enemy is not really out there—it’s in here—it’s troubling.

Drew (03:27)
What do you think?

Adam Watson (03:53)
He’s used that term, “enemy from within,” on the campaign trail to describe Democrats. So it feels like he’s directing the military, subtly, to go after political opponents—or at least prepping them to do so—even though those opponents are not enemy combatants or part of any hostile nation.

Drew (04:12)
Mm-hmm.

Adam Watson (04:20)
Right.

Drew (04:31)
Yeah, he’s already mobilized the National Guard. He put them in all these cities specifically. Do you know where it was?

Adam Watson (04:41)
Yeah. So he’s deployed the National Guard to Portland, Ore.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Memphis, Tenn.; Washington, D.C.; and he’s sending some to Chicago, Ill.. Those are the only ones I know off the top of my head.

Drew (04:50)
Yeah, I think it was there.

Adam Watson (05:05)
But he’s sending them based on assisting ICE with their massive deportation operations.

Drew (05:16)
I think he said something about keeping agents in these cities to “keep control of them.” That’s paraphrasing, of course, but in one of his rallies, he said something like that. I think it was Portland, Ore, but I’m not sure.

Adam Watson (05:37)
Yeah, so recently in these cities, he’s been—this seems to be a playbook he’s running off of—sending ICE in to do massive deportation operations like we saw in Illinois and Portland. And then, when there are inevitably protests against what you might call legally dubious deportations, he claims that the police and ICE agents can’t control them.

In Portland’s case, he called the city “war-torn.” I’m not sure if that’s the exact quote, but he said “war-torn,” and then sent in the National Guard to assist ICE, even though local police departments each time have said it’s been isolated incidents and that they’re fully capable of handling things themselves.

So it seems to be less about assisting ICE and more about political theater using the military at the expense of taxpayers. What do you think, Drew?

Drew (06:46)
I agree. I didn’t know it was such a methodical approach—like, “We’re going to deport all these people, and when people get rightfully upset, we’ll send in the National Guard.” That’s problematic in general, even beyond the deportation issue. That’s a different thing we could talk about for a while—a long while.

Adam Watson (07:12)
Right. Yeah. It’s problematic for a number of reasons. This isn’t the first instance of politicizing the military—there have been cases, directly or indirectly, of presidents or political figures using the military in ads or as backdrops. But this feels different. This feels like using it as a political tool, not just as messaging.

It’s problematic because if you send soldiers—National Guard troops—into cities with protests, you risk those protests turning violent. You might see the National Guard firing on protesters or using tear gas and pepper spray, like what happened in Chicago, where ICE agents fired into a crowd of protesters who hadn’t initiated any violence.

Drew (09:05)
You said Trump’s using the National Guard and ICE as a tool. What do you think he’s trying to accomplish with that?

Adam Watson (09:18)
I think there are a few things. I’ve heard some people talk about this, too—he’s trying to dissuade opposition. If you want to do something unpopular, you want to discourage protests. One of the best ways to do that is to imply that if you protest, you could be arrested or injured.

By sending heavily armed ICE agents or the National Guard to protest areas, he’s trying to scare people out of protesting. He’s also blurring the lines between what’s normal and what’s legal. The U.S. military is supposed to be a strictly nonpartisan institution.

Drew (09:58)
Yeah, he’s kind of fearmongering.

Adam Watson (10:17)
Right—and breaking down those norms that have kept the military separate from partisan politics. There’s no law against using it for political gain, but it’s always been an understood boundary. Breaking those norms erodes the separation of powers that’s foundational to our democracy.

Drew (11:09)
Yeah. What do you think he’s accomplished by it? Like, why would he do all this?

Adam Watson (11:20)
I think he’s getting two things out of it. First, he doesn’t respond well to criticism or protests. He doesn’t want to see them because they create political headaches. Second, breaking down institutional walls gives him more power, which he likes.

Drew (12:09)
Yeah, I agree with that. Being subjective, he does like power. That’s why he’s president.

Adam Watson (12:17)
Yeah. This just gives him more of that.

Drew (12:27)
If you had to guess—just spitballing—yeah.

Adam Watson (12:29)
What do you think? Same question for you.

Drew (12:33)
I honestly have no clue other than power—and maybe status. Like, if I were president, I’d want to be remembered. He’s trying to make an impact.

Adam Watson (12:46)
Right. I mean, let’s be frank. He’s already made an impact on American history. There’s going to be a whole textbook chapter on the presidency of Donald Trump.

Drew (13:00)
Yeah, he’s already made a splash. A hundred years from now, people will learn about this—COVID, all of it.

Adam Watson (13:16)
There will probably be five chapters dedicated to Trump. And then a subsection on how his administration used AI videos and images, which is kind of crazy.

Drew (13:38)
Oh my God. Have you seen those AI videos? After this, I’m going to send you one—it’s called Sora 2. They’re insane. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago, and I joked that I couldn’t tell the difference. Now I genuinely can’t.

Adam Watson (14:02)
The ones the White House is posting?

Drew (14:04)
No, no—those ones are mid. I mean the new OpenAI branch.

Adam Watson (14:06)
Right. The ones from the White House could maybe pass as realistic, but the content is so crazy. They posted one of Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero—

Drew (14:33)
I know what you’re talking about. I think that was just Photoshopped.

Adam Watson (14:34)
Yeah, that was Photoshop. They also posted one of Trump as a Jedi. They’re using AI in such a weird way for a presidential administration. But that’s another topic.

Drew (14:44)
Yeah, and with the Photoshop stuff—they’re diminishing others’ achievements. They had someone saying something serious about immigrants, and they Photoshopped a sombrero and added mariachi music. Obviously, everyone goes after the other side, but Trump does it a ton—and he also uses AI videos, which is another thing entirely.

Adam Watson (15:32)
Yeah, it’s just so odd, especially coming from an administration.

Drew (15:37)
Yeah. If it were just some random guy, fine—but this guy controls the U.S.

Adam Watson (15:46)
Exactly.

Drew (15:46)
And he’s making AI videos in his free time.

Adam Watson (15:50)
Yeah, it’s just crazy.

Drew (15:54)
What an interesting timeline.

Adam Watson (15:57)
This has got to be one of the weirdest timelines that has ever existed, quite frankly.

Drew (16:05)
How does all of Trump’s nonsense impact us? Besides the fact that he controls the U.S. and we live here—how would you say?

Adam Watson (16:12)
Do you mean us specifically in Clayton, or Americans in general?

Drew (16:21)
Americans in general.

Adam Watson (16:23)
Yeah. It impacts Americans because some of the things he does are ridiculous—you can laugh them off. But others are genuinely concerned for our institutions and democracy. There was one instance where ICE agents were sent to an event Gavin Newsom was hosting in California. I’m not sure if Trump directly ordered that, but we could see more of it—using law enforcement or the military to indirectly pressure political opponents. That’s dangerous for our republic.

Drew (17:25)
My take is that for the average American—if you’re just a regular citizen—the main impact is fearmongering. You might not be as willing to speak up or protest if you don’t know what could happen to you. That’s just my two cents.

Adam Watson (17:50)
Yeah. Okay. Thank you for listening to “Simplifying the State.” We’ll be back next week with our next episode. Hopefully, Nicholas will be back with us. Make sure to rate the podcast, follow it, and follow us on Instagram at “Simplifying the State.” We post when we upload new episodes, and we’ll see you next time.

Drew (17:56)
Hopefully Nicholas will be feeling better.