The executive editor of Defense One panned President Donald Trump's "unprecedented" partisan political speech at the Pentagon on Thursday — claiming it bombed with its select Department of Defense audience.
In a scathing takedown of the president's announcement of new missile defense plans, Defense One executive editor Kevin Baron took aim at the president's politically slanted delivery.
"The president used senior uniformed and civilian DOD leaders as a backdrop for a partisan political speech," Baron wrote. "This time, Trump bashed Democrats and previous unnamed presidents while proclaiming his own greatness on everything from missiles to the budget, the Iran deal, and the military's overall strength."
"It was unprecedented, even for a commander in chief who has used troops as backdrops since his 2016 campaign," Baron added, saying the "partisan attack" is "simply not done at the Pentagon."
"Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, who was traveling overseas, have taken extraordinary steps to keep political discourse away from the military," Baron wrote.
"In part, they did so by sharply reducing their press appearances, public engagements, and the number of reporters permitted to travel with them abroad."
"The select officers and civilians picked to hear this speech apparently got the message," Baron continued. "The room did not applaud."
In his 20-minute speech, Trump announced a new, more aggressive space-based missile defense strategy to counter threats from North Korea and Iran and to compete with advanced weapons systems being developed by China and Russia, Fox News reported.
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