One of the duties Donald Trump clearly relished his first time around as president was that of

Commander-in-Chief. He regularly referred to, quote, my generals, meaning both his officers in the

service. My generals and my military. And the retired officers, he appointed two top positions.

My generals are going to keep us so safe.

They're going to have a lot of problems the other side.

Despite the praise, Trump was often frustrated by a military leadership that wanted to preserve

its nonpartisan role in American society.

Take the summer of 2020, when he threatened to send troops into the

streets in response to the protests after the murder of George Floyd. If a city or state

refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their

residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.

A few days later, his defense secretary, Mark Asper, said the opposite.

The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort,

and only in the most urgent and dire of situations.

We are not in one of those situations now.

Four years later, Trump no longer boasts about his generals.

These generals that aren't even generals as far as I was concerned, what a stupid group of people they were.

Many of them have since criticized his leadership.

Some used the word fascist, like his former chief of staff,

retired Marine General John Kelly speaking to the New York Times.

He certainly an authoritarian admires people who are dictators.

He has said that.

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