So, We Really Need to Talk About Trump’s Speech at CENTCOM.

Today, Donald Trump visited U.S. Central Command. For those of y’all who don’t know what that is, it’s the Command responsible for the military operations the Middle East and Central Asia. General Petraeus and General Mattis, now Secretary of Defense, both served as the commanding generals. Bottom line, it’s a busy place and if you’re asking people to take time out of their day to listen to a speech, even a presidential speech, it better be good. Given that I used to work there and I might know a thing or two about presidential rhetoric, I was particularity interested to see how he would do. Hey, this is what happens when you let a presidential rhetorician loose at CENTCOM for a few years. I’d like to think I have a pretty good vantage point. Rhetorical analysis comes in handy.

Overall, I was not impressed. At best, it was a disorganized, low energy, and rambling mess. At worst, it was a self promoting campaign speech that revealed how ill-equipped he is to lead our military. I’m actually not sure what kind of speech it was supposed to be because it was so disorganized and its purpose went undefined from the beginning. Most presidential speeches delivered to military confirm to certain conventions. This one really didn’t. It was weird. So weird, I think it warrants a section-by-section analysis, so here goes. If I missed anything, leave it in the comments.

Remarks by President Trump to Coalition Representatives and Senior U.S. Commanders

MacDill Air Force Base
Tampa, Florida

1:48 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. That’s so nice. A lot of spirit. Great spirit for this country. Thank you, all. We have tremendous spirit and I want to thank you.

We had a wonderful election, didn’t we? (Applause.) And I saw those numbers — and you like me, and I like you. That’s the way it worked. (Laughter.)

I’m honored to be here today among so many of our really and truly great heroes. I want to begin by thanking General Votel and General Thomas for their distinguished leadership and service on behalf of our country. Very, very outstanding people. I’d also like to thank General Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. That’s big stuff, when you have the Chairman. Where is — Joe, stand up for a second. This is one of the great people. (Applause.) Thank you.

He starts out by singling out Dunford, not because he’s this great leader, which he is by the way, but because he’s the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He’s impressed by titles, that part is clear, but it’s also signals hat he might not know much about our military other than 1) titles are good and 2) the title of Chairman is “very” good. I mean, “this is one of the great people,” after all. He needs to spend the rest of the speech establishing himself as the Commander-in-Chief. So far, he’s not convincing.

Also, Commander Vogel and everyone serving at MacDill Air Force Base. Quite a place. And we’re going to be loading it up with beautiful new planes and beautiful new equipment. You’ve been lacking a little equipment. We’re going to load it up. You’re going to get a lot of equipment. Believe me. (Applause.)

CENTCOM as an organization, is more than planes and equipment. It’s where operational planning gets done. He sounds almost parental here. If you’re all good little boys and girls, you’ll get some shiny new toys to play with. That’s the tone. You’re talking to grown-ass men and women who plan and execute major military operations and while “equipment” is nice, things like authorities, policy, and human capital are also important resources in more scarce supply than “equipment.” Trump seems to reduce the entire military to things and reinforces that idea when he says “beautiful new planes and beautiful new equipment.” That’s not good. I don’t think he understands how this works at all. Again, the Commander-in-Chief needs to assert himself as a knowledgeable leader and so far, it’s not happening.

So importantly, also, let me thank all of the coalition partners and their representatives assembled here today. We proudly — very proudly — stand with you, and we will be fighting for your security. They’re fighting for our security and freedom.

Now would be a good time to talk about our international partnerships. He’d be wise to take advantage of this rhetorical opportunity to speak to the military, media, and the public and let them know that he is not an isolationist. Nope. The coalition gets three short sentences and he moves on to the governor.

Let me recognize our great governor and a very good friend of mine, and somebody who endorsed me — that makes him a better friend of mine. (Laughter.) You know, if they don’t endorse, believe me, if you’re ever in this position, it’s never quite the same, okay? (Laughter.) You can talk, but it never means the same. But this man is a great, great governor and has done a fantastic job — Rick Scott, governor, stand up please. (Applause.) Thank you, Rick.

This is your standard obligatory gubernatorial introduction, but then it gets weird. He redirects the conversation back to himself and brings up who endorsed him. It’s like he’s trying to thank Rick Scott for being there but can’t help making it all about himself. Awkward.

Finally, on behalf of the entire nation, let me express our gratitude to all members — and I mean all members — of our military serving in the United States Central Command and the United States Special Operations Command. We salute the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, along with our civilian defense personnel, who are so important to the success of what we’re doing.

What is weird here isn’t so much what he said, it’s what he didn’t say. By emphasizing “all members” he is trying to be inclusive. That’s good. But then he says it a second time. Would it have killed him to just say “servicemen and women” instead of “all members? right off the bat? He’s missing a chance to acknowledge women’s roles within the defense and intelligence communities and push back against the accusation that all women in his administration need to dress like women.

Let me also recognize the military families and spouses who bravely shoulder the burdens of war. I want every military family in this country to know that our administration is at your service. We stand with you 100 percent. We will protect those who protect us, and we will never ever let you down. As your President, I have no higher duty than to protect the American people — highest duty we have. I said it the other night. Great, great Supreme Court nominee — you all saw that — but I said to myself, perhaps the only thing more important to me definitely is the defense of our nation. The Supreme Court is so important, but we have to defend our nation. And we will do that, believe me. (Applause.) We will do that. And each and every one of you is central to that mission.

He alludes to women here, but they are only presented within the context of wife and mother. Also, the language here is vague and almost empty. It’s unclear what “that mission” is and what “the defense of our nation” means. He’s at a combatant command and it would have served him well to be a little more concrete. Commanders-in-Chief do not have the luxury of speaking in abstract terms all the time.

On a side note, what’s with the section on the Supreme Court? That came out of nowhere. I also wonder if he has a compulsive habit of putting people in hierarchies. The supreme court and our military serve two very different functions and at any given point in history, one might be more relevant than the other. Singling one out as more important is just weird.

The men and women serving at CENTCOM and SOCOM have poured out their hearts and souls for this country. They really experience things that very few people get to experience. You’ve shed your blood across the continents and the oceans. You’ve engaged the enemy on distant battlefields, toiled in the burning heat and bitter cold, and sacrificed everything so that we can remain safe and strong and free. Our administration will always honor our sacred bond to those who serve, and we will never ever forget you. Believe me, we will never ever forget you.

In the middle of the speech he finally gets around to saying “men and women.” That’s good, but then he gets all abstract again and almost theatrical. When he says, “You’ve engaged the enemy on distant battlefields, toiled in the burning heat and bitter cold, and sacrificed everything so that we can remain safe and strong and free,” it sounds more like an opening to the screenplay from A few Good Men II than a speech delivered where the primary audiences are military leaders and military reporters. He literally communicates nothing here and was another missed opportunity.

This portion of the speech sounds like something that took little time or effort to write. Effort would require talking to people, actually listening and incorporating their stories into a speech delivered for some of the highest-ranking military officials in the country and their coalition partners. This sounds like a guy who doesn’t really know many details of what people’s jobs are and really didn’t take the time to find out. Also, the part when he says “Believe me, we will never ever forget you” is more than a little over-the-top and out of place. This isn’t a movie. This isn’t the set of the Titanic. I’ll never let go, Jack, I’ll never let — Ok, squirrel. Moving on.

We will ensure that the men and women of our military have the tools, equipment, resources, training, and supplies you need to get the job done. You’ve seen me say we’ve been depleted. Our navy is at a point almost as low as World War I. That’s a long time ago. That’s a long time ago. It’s not going to happen anymore, folks. It’s not going to happen anymore — not with me.

Again, his sentences don’t communicate much. I’m not convinced he knows much about the military and 3/4ths into his speech I’m still not convinced he knows what he means when he says “get the job done.”

This is also a moment where he could have talked about the Navy’s accomplishments, or any of the services’ accomplishments. I mean, our Navy’s done a pretty good job so far with a little country called Iran. Instead, he chooses to talk about how depleted they are and steers the conversation back to himself. Positioning himself as the savior of the Navy to some of the very people who are working their asses off every day serving in the Navy is a bold move. Bold, but not very smart.

But we will ensure no taxpayer dollars are wasted. I have already saved more than $700 million when I got involved in the negotiation on the F-35. You know about that. And I want to thank Lockheed Martin and I want to thank Boeing, and I want to thank all of the companies that have really opened up. And when I say opened up, Rick Scott understands this very well — opened up and cut their prices. Okay? Because that’s what they did. And we’ve got that program, it’s going to be back in really great shape from really being very troubled.

Almost time to wrap up and he’s still making this speech all about himself. We aren’t sure what it is about, but we know that a consistent theme is reminding the audience how great he is. It probably would be better to talk less about himself and more about the people serving this country. That’s what Presidents do. He’s not speaking like a president and he needs to start, like yesterday. He needs to get with the program. This is getting exhausting.

This is probably the weirdest section of the whole thing. Just when we thought we knew where we were headed, all of a sudden, he’s thanking multi-billion dollar companies. Let me repeat that: In a speech to the U.S. military leaders (emphasis on the word leaders) who are responsible for planning operations in the Middle East and Central Asia and keeping us safe, he thanked Boeing and Lockeed Martin. Take a moment to take that in. I’ll wait.

And we are going to be taking care of our great veterans. We will make a historic financial investment in the Armed Forces of the United States and show the entire world that America stands with those who stand in defense of freedom. We have your back every hour, every day, now and always. That also means getting our allies to pay their fair share. It’s been very unfair to us. We strongly support NATO. We only ask that all of the NATO members make their full and proper financial contributions to the NATO Alliance, which many of them have not been doing. Many of them have not been even close, and they have to do that.

Here, he’s still using empty, abstract language but now he’s jumping even quicker between topics. He goes from Veterans to NATO with no coherent transition. I literally can’t even deal with him at this point. He lost me somewhere at NATO.

Central Command and Central [Special] Operations Command are at the very center of our fight against radical Islamic terrorism. America stands in awe of your courage. Those serving at CENTCOM have bravely fought across the theater of war in the Middle East, and bravely battled a vicious enemy that has no respect for human life. Today, we express our gratitude to everyone serving overseas, including all of our military personnel in Afghanistan.

SOCOM has dispatched its legendary warriors to the most secret, sensitive and daring missions in defense of the United States of America. No enemy stands a chance against our Special Forces — not even a chance. They don’t have a chance, and that’s the way we’re going to keep it. And you’re going to be better off because you’re going to have the finest equipment known to man. Going to be better off.

We’re back to shiny new equipment and my patience is wearing thin. Who the heck wrote this? I’m pretty sure my students in first-year-writing seminar could write a more organized speech. We’re talking about SOCOM now, in case you couldn’t keep up. It’s all over the place. He has still not defined anything significant in this entire speech. It’s a glorious cornucopia of abstract concepts and empty words. “Going to be better off.” Thats a fragment. Ok, thanks. Now what the f&ck does that mean — you’re wasting my time.

For proof that our nation has been blessed by God, look no further than the men and women of the United States military. They are the greatest fighters and the greatest force of justice on the face of the Earth and that the world has ever known. The challenges facing our nation nevertheless are very large — very, very large.

American exceptionalism. How we’ve missed you! How nice of you to show up. Within a day of the President saying that like Russia, the U.S. is not that innocent, now our country is suddenly blessed by God? Despite being blessed by God, he doesn’t forget to remind us that “The challenges facing our nations nevertheless are very large — very, very, large.” He is not giving the impression that he has learned anything about the audience to which he is speaking. Where is John Winthrop when you need him? Probably drinking with Fredrick Douglas.

We’re up against an enemy that celebrates death and totally worships destruction — you’ve seen that. ISIS is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world. Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11; as they did from Boston to Orlando, to San Bernardino. And all across Europe, you’ve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it’s happening. It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported and, in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons and you understand that.

So today, we deliver a message in one very unified voice: To these forces of death and destruction, America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them. We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism, and we will not allow it to take root in our country. We’re not going to allow it. You’ve been seeing what’s been going on over the last few days. We need strong programs so that people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in — not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country. (Applause.)

This is the strongest and most salvageable part of the entire speech. If he’s lucky, journalists will use sound bites from this section and forget they heard the rest but he just said that they cover up terrorist attacks so that’s unlikely. This part actually makes sense and adds nuance to his immigration executive order. You know, the-Muslim-ban-that’s-not-a-ban-because-it’s-only-a-ban-because-you-said-it-first. Ha. Sorry.

Did anyone else expect Melissa McCarthy to pop up and pull out a moose and lamb from a box? Mooooooose-lamb. Tee Hee. Still cracking myself up. Sorry. Now, serious face.

Freedom, security and justice will prevail. In his first State of the Union message, President George Washington wrote that, “To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” Almost 200 years later, as the General was also speaking about Ronald Reagan, he said that wisdom comes in three very, very strong words: “Peace through strength.” I’ve said it many times during the campaign, speaking in front of tens of thousands of people at one sitting, and I’d always mention America first — a phrase that you probably never heard, “Make America Great Again.” (Applause.) Anybody ever heard that? (Applause.) And peace through strength.

Ok this part is just straight up weird. In terms of presidential rhetoric, the use of authorizing figures, evoking another president’s words or legacy to make your argument stronger, is normal. He’s clearly trying to legitimize himself and his presidency by using Washington. Washington is not just any president; he’s our first president. The grand poobah of presidents. So, here, he’s literally using the father of our country to justify force and military readiness. Ill save the military philosophy for another post but it’s a bold move.

Then, he jumps to Reagan and things go downhill pretty quick. Then, he sneaks in a little Make America Great Again. That he manages to do all this in three short sentences is both horrifying and amazing. This portion of his speech is literally a $hit storm of authorizing figures and glittering generalities and he ends it by using own slogan to authorize his own position on our military, which he has not yet bothered to share with anyone. That’s like giving yourself a high five for an inside joke no one gets but you. So very strange. Did I mention I was exhausted?

The men and women of the United States military provide the strength to bring peace to our troubled, troubled times. We stand behind you. We support your mission. We love our country. We are loyal to our people. We respect our flag. We celebrate our traditions. We honor our heroes. You are our heroes. And we are prepared to fight. And we pray for peace.

Here we are again back to troubled times. This isn’t the best tone you want to strike in a public speech to military leaders. He goes from living in troubled times to loyalty and flags and then heroes. When he says “we are prepared to flight” it is unclear who “we” are or what we are fighting. He ends with praying for peace. Trippy.

Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.)

And just like that, after much heartburn and angst, it’s over. I’m exhausted and I’m pretty sure a lot of the audience is too. It could have been worse. It could always have been worse but if this is any indication of what’s ahead, we are all in for a rough 4 years.

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Originally published at medium.com on February 7, 2017.