President Trump’s decision to skip President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration followed another departure from previous departing presidents, a dearth of events to thank the military that the 45th commander in chief long prided himself on strengthening right up to his farewell words at Joint Base Andrews.
“We rebuilt the United States military,” Trump said to a small crowd Wednesday morning after smiling during a 21-gun salute as “Hail to the Chief” was played by a military band.
The president also praised his creation of the Space Force and claimed a 91% approval rating among military veterans.
“Our vets are happy. Our people are happy. Our military is thrilled,” he said shortly before passing a military color guard while walking a red carpet to Air Force One for the last time as the sitting president.
But the military pomp and circumstance that Trump himself ordered for his departure is not the norm, say military experts and historians. The thanks are usually part of the inauguration ceremony. What’s more, the president usually spends his final weeks personally greeting troops in the field.
“Lots of times as a president starts to look back, they say, ‘You know, I’m going to visit our troops overseas,’” retired Lt. Gen. Tom Spoehr of the Heritage Foundation told the Washington Examiner.
“I’m going to go to a couple of couple places, shake a bunch of hands, pat people on the back, tell the military, ‘Thanks for their support to the nation during this administration,’” he added. “That has happened in the past. I don’t think we’ve seen that in this administration.”
Trump increased defense spending by some $80 billion in 2017, and he was responsible for one of the largest military pay raises in history.
“He got them some funding that they needed. He restored some pride to the military,” Spoehr said.
Trump also spoke to soldiers on a level unlike past presidents, he added.
“He had a unique connection with the troops and that he speaks bluntly and without a lot of subterfuge,” he said. “They appreciate that because they speak bluntly as well. And so, they like a president that kind of can easily communicate with them.”
Trump also gave field commanders in Syria and Afghanistan additional authorities to pursue the Taliban and the Islamic State.
“They like it when the commander in chief is not micromanaging war-fighting efforts,” Spoehr said. “All of those things have been good for the military.”
Trump makes three
George Washington University military historian Ron Spector said only twice in two centuries has a president skipped an inauguration, an event in which the military ceremony that accompanies the commander in chief’s departure usually takes place.
“I doubt that past outgoing presidents have had anything on the scale that Trump is planning for himself,” he said ahead of Trump’s departure from Joint Base Andrews. “There’ve been other presidents who haven’t had any pomp and circumstance.”
Boosting, or cutting, military spending is something that comes with the job and depends on the time in history the president is serving, Spector explained.
“Presidents have made drastic increases in the defense budget as well, drastic cuts, depending on their circumstances,” he said.
“As far as what he deserved from the military, he is a four times deferment recipient. He went out of his way, to put it mildly, not to serve in Vietnam,” he said of Trump’s time before serving in office. “He has never served in the military, and he’s lied about the circumstances under which he avoided service. I don’t think the military owes him a thing.”
The former Marine also said he was personally offended by alleged Trump comments at World War I battlefields in France that referred to those fallen as “suckers and losers.”
“That didn’t necessarily endear him to other Marines,” he said.
To be sure, Trump is the first Republican president to lose the military vote to a Democratic candidate, according to a poll conducted by Military Times.
In the days before Inauguration Day, wild rumors circulated about Trump’s hastily planned Andrews departure, including a flyover.
A military band, an honor guard, and cannons were present for the brief event.
“The military typically pays tribute to the outgoing commander in chief in a ceremonial fashion,” Spoehr said, noting such events are usually conducted in conjunction with the incoming president.
Spoehr recalled an honor guard lining the east side of the Capitol steps for the Obama-Trump transition.
“Every step had a soldier. There were flags. It was pomp and circumstance,” he said. “It just kind of reflects the respect that the military has for the government of the United States and the commander in chief.”
No troop visits in final weeks
In one of his final public acts, Trump visited the southern border, a move to demonstrate a campaign promise that he contends was kept even as Democratic lawmakers contend a barrier that was built over the last four years had largely been planned for years before he took office.
It was Vice President Mike Pence who shook hands with National Guard troops providing protection to the capital ahead of the inauguration and Pence who visited about 150 soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division who recently returned from Afghanistan at Fort Drum Sunday.
Spoehr speculated that the military response to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, which required the defense secretary and Army secretary to coordinate with the National Guard, may have distracted the Defense Department from planning a grand sendoff.
The Pentagon and the White House did not respond to requests by the Washington Examiner for details about the event planned for this morning.
Trump himself was distracted by his own baseless election fraud claims, calls for impeachment, and planning the final moments of his time in office, which included the issuing of more than 100 pardons.
“I think the president has been distracted, probably. So, I think that probably explains it,” offered Spoehr.
Spector’s assessment was distinct.
“Let me give you my historical perspective in a few words: No previous commander in chief has disgraced himself in such a way as this president,” he said. “I think he should be conveyed away in a garbage truck. So, there’s really no reason to make comparisons because this case is unique.”
