Does Trump Even Know What Soldiers Fight For? | Command Post
Bulwark Takes
The Bulwark
4.7 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a new edition of Command Post, Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling and Ben Parker give their takes on Trump’s military-heavy State of the Union address, including Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated” even as he suggests military action. They break down how the speech leaned more on ceremony and applause lines than on strategy, vision, or a clear explanation of U.S. national security goals. Former General Hertling also explains why praising military service without explaining its purpose risks misunderstanding the meaning of sacrifice, and why the State of the Union is meant to be more than a performance, it’s supposed to inform Congress and the American people about the country’s direction.
Have a question that you'd like us to consider for a future episode of Command Post? Send an email to commandpost@thebulwark.com. Please include your name, how to say it and where you're located.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Ben Parker from the Bullwark. |
| 0:01.7 | And hi, everybody. I'm Bullwark contributor and retired Lieutenant General Mark Hurtling. |
| 0:05.6 | Welcome to another episode of Command Post, a new edition of Bullwark Cakes, where we break down specifically military reality behind the headlines. |
| 0:15.6 | Today, we're going to be talking all about Donald Trump's State of the Union address, which for us was last night. We're recording |
| 0:21.9 | this on Wednesday, February 25th. And, you know, it was weirdly a very military heavy state |
| 0:32.0 | of the union, very military heavy. But we're going to talk first about all the things Trump said, |
| 0:37.3 | or at least a lot of them. It was a long speech. And then we're going to talk first about all the things Trump said, or at least a lot of |
| 0:37.9 | them, it was a long speech. And then we're going to talk about a lot of the things that he didn't say. |
| 0:44.3 | And if you want to read more about this general, you have an article you just published in the |
| 0:48.3 | book called Borrowed Valor at the State of the Union, which is all about all of the medals he |
| 0:53.7 | gave out and what that |
| 0:55.4 | did and didn't do. Why don't you tell us what that article's about? Yeah, it's pretty unique, Ben. |
| 1:00.8 | I called it borrowed valor as opposed to stolen valor, which is a term a lot of military folks use |
| 1:06.6 | when they see someone wearing a uniform that, and they know they're not in the services |
| 1:11.9 | because the badges are wrong or they've got too many badges on their uniform |
| 1:15.6 | or if someone's talking in a bar out loud about being part of Delta Force and doing the kind of things, |
| 1:21.8 | it's a stolen valor. |
| 1:23.2 | But in the case of what we saw last night, I'd consider it more borrowed Baller because the president in terms of this speech was technically not doing the kinds of things that you're supposed to do as a president at the state of the union address, which is dictated by the Constitution. |
| 1:41.9 | And instead, there seemed to be a lot of glorification of the military, of ice. |
| 1:48.2 | Well, he never mentioned ICE, but he talked about police forces in the city. |
| 1:52.7 | And it seemed to not be what we would expect in a state of a union. |
| 2:00.3 | Now, I think we ought to start off by saying, like I did in the article as a lead, the |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Bulwark, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Bulwark and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.