(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday told the military’s top generals about his controversial plans to send troops to “dangerous” Democratic cities, arguing, “We’re under invasion from within.”
Trump made clear that the military’s job is not only to protect the United States from threats abroad but also what he repeatedly referred to as a domestic enemy in American cities.
“It’s a war from within,” the president said to the room of high-ranking military generals who flew from across the globe to Quantico, Virginia. “We’re under invasion from within.”
Trump talked about his efforts to increase the use of U.S. military in American cities. Trump specifically said that Democratic-run cities, such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco, are in “bad shape,” and that he threatened to “straighten them out, one-by-one.”
“I told Pete [Hegseth] we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military National Guard,” he said.
Over the weekend, Trump announced that he ordered federal troops to Portland, Oregon, because of what he alleged were threats from domestic terrorists. The city’s Democratic Mayor Keith Wilson and the state’s Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek both stressed that they did not request the troops and objected to the action.
Trump mentioned his call with Kotek on Tuesday, claiming that Portland “is burning down.”
“I said ‘You don’t have it under control, governor, but I’ll check it and I’ll call you back.’ I called [her] back. I said ‘you, this place is a nightmare,'” Trump said.
Throughout Trump’s speech — which came after Hegseth called for an end to what he called “woke” culture in the military — the president’s words were met generally with silence and subdued reaction from generals, who did not seem to respond to the president’s often highly-partisan talking points. Reaction in the room among the military’s top leaders was even more limited when Trump talked about sending troops into American cities such as Chicago and Portland.
It was an unusual reception for Trump, who is used to delivering blockbuster speeches to friendly audiences.
The president took note of the mood in the room soon after he began talking, and appeared to be surprised.
“I’ve never walked into a room so silent before,” he said before making jokes.
“Just have a good time. And if you want to applaud, you applaud. And if you want to do anything you want, you can do anything you want. And if you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room. Of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future, but you just feel nice and loose, OK, because we’re all on the same team,” Trump added.
There were a few chuckles from the crowd, including when Trump joked that he liked his own signature.
By the end of the speech, some members of the crowd stood and some lightly applauded.
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