Retired National Guard Maj. Gen. Randy Manner knocked President Donald Trump’s use of the military for a parade on his birthday, claiming that it conflicts with how the U.S. Army celebrates the branch’s anniversary.
“We usually have some cake, we recognize the eldest Army person, the youngest, we say a few speeches and we tell some stories. And so it’s one of those things where it’s an overblown use of a demonstration of power,” he told MSNBC’s Katy Tur.
Manner, former acting vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, was among the estimated millions who attended “No Kings” demonstrations over the weekend and spoke to thousands of protesters in Alexandria, Virginia.
In a clip of his speech shared by MSNBC, he stressed that the U.S. Army — whose 250th anniversary was billed as the focus of Trump’s parade in D.C. — “does not belong to any president.”
“It is the army of the people, for the people,” he told the crowd.
“It does not exist to protect power, and it must never, ever be used to intimidate or silence the very people it was created to defend.”
Manner told Tur that while the military and contractors’ efforts led to an “outstanding” and safe parade, the president’s use of the military wasn’t “keeping with the ethics” of the U.S. Army being “quiet professionals.”
Manner, who recently ripped Trump for deploying the military to protests against his deportations in Los Angeles, was later asked what it means for Americans to have “less trust” in the military due to its use by the president.
He told Tur that one of the “most important” things any military or political leader must do is instill trust in all those who serve under them.
“They have to believe in each other, they have to believe in the leader, they have to believe that there is hope and that together they are far more powerful and unite when they are united,” Manner said.
“That’s the one thing that must continue is that the military must be viewed as apolitical, meaning not aligned with any particular party, and we must return to our roots, and the president must allow this to happen.”