Ever since the reprehensible Donald Trump — the Republican Party’s loathsome candidate for president — desecrated the graves of our fallen heroes and their families at Arlington National Cemetery’s hallowed Section 60 last Monday, August 26, by slovenly staking it out for a campaign photo-op, I have searched inside myself for the right words to express my sadness, anger, and disgust.
I had all but given up, when I came across an opinion piece on the tragic subject from retired Admiral Mike Mullen in today’s edition of the Washington Post. Mullen, who attained the rare rank of four-star admiral and commanded one high-level posting after another during his superlative, 43-year career in the Navy, served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2011 under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Mullen’s career was honorable, distinguished, and as a Navy man myself, did me proud.
Our paths crossed a few times while I was the civilian Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes newspaper from 2000 to 2011, and he was bouncing around the globe from one big command to another. Mullen presented as understated, distinguished, and one step ahead of whatever it was he was messing with.
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Mullen always respected Stars & Stripes, which could be a helluva lot easier said than done from a man in his position.
Because Stripes is mandated by Congress to be editorially independent, we occasionally turned around some tough stories, that didn't always reflect well on the military or command.
Our service members are only too human sometimes, and a rare few will stumble and find trouble — a sailor robbing store, a captain running aground, a master chief peddling Navy secrets ... Unfortunately, it’s news when it happens. Best the military’s newspaper reports it first, rather than some other media entity that treats the military as a sidelight or a hobby.
We reported on the military for the military, good and bad, and Mullen understood and respected our mission. So when I saw him take to a newspaper today to explain to the American public why what Trump pulled at Arlington was so out of line and disrespectful, I read it with extreme interest.
Among Mullen’s many points in his editorial is that politics have no place whatsoever in our military. This is a line Trump has disgracefully crossed before, which is why so many former military leaders are sounding the alarms about another Trump term.
Typical of the man, Mullen was for more measured than I could ever be, but elegantly made a series of excellent points before landing here: “to intrude upon that scene — to visit politics upon it — is to do much more than violate those rules; it is to betray the very nature of Arlington.”
“It is to betray the very nature of Arlington …” That, to me, was the money line, and why everybody must understood Trump’s high crime, and how low he went with his disgraceful visit.
But rather than critique the admiral’s good work, I thought it best to just share it with you here directly. It is a short, tight piece and explains why Mullen “never wants to see it happen again.”
The best way to prevent this, of course, is to make sure this horrible person never gets anywhere near power again.
You’ll notice he never mentions the despicable man, by his despicable name. This is by design, because the admiral honors his own words by avoiding sounding political or partisan. He’s sees his job as drawing the bright line that was obliterated here, and can never be crossed again.
Here is Admiral Mullen’s offering.
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(D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. You can find all his work here.)
