The Trump Department of Defense Is Firing Non-Loyalists and Recruiting Loyalists to Create a MAGAfied Military

Sep 18, 2025

The United States military has traditionally been composed of citizen soldiers drawn from all groups and political affiliations. A key aspect of a free society is that the use of force is not placed in the hands of a partisan organization with its own distinct political agenda.

Donald Trump’s Department of Defense is attempting to undermine this tradition.

NBC News reports:

Pentagon leaders are considering a new recruiting campaign that would encourage young people to honor the legacy of assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk by joining the military, according to two officials familiar with the planning. …
As part of the potential new campaign, Pentagon leaders are considering using chapters of Kirk’s political organization, Turning Point USA, at schools across the U.S. as military recruitment centers, the officials said. That could include inviting recruiters to be present at events or advertising for the military at the chapters, one of them explained. President Donald Trump has credited Kirk and Turning Point USA with helping him win the 2024 election.

Remember that the Trump administration has already been using Charlie Kirk’s assassination as an excuse to politicize the armed forced by purging anyone critical of Kirk. And this report notes the real kicker: “Kirk did not serve in the armed forces.” Then again, neither did Trump.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

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