In reaction to President Trump’s ordering of Oregon National Guard into Portland, MSNBC’s Morning Joe questioned the usefulness and legality of the strategy Monday morning. This came after a deployment in Los Angeles, a pending deployment in Memphis, and yet-to-occur deployment in Chicago. There was also an undertone of suspicion that the National Guard would use weapons against innocent Americans.
Host Joe Scarborough kicked things off with his characteristic negativity, suggesting that the peace-keeping efforts has undermined the troops’ mission-effectiveness:
SCARBOROUGH: What does it do to the morale of the National Guard? […] What does it do to the readiness of our armed forces when you have these National Guard members, and in L.A., Marines, used as political props and picking up trash in Washington parks?
HERTLING: We’re already seeing the indications of that, Joe, with re-enlistment rates. As a commander, one of the things you look to do is try and persuade your soldiers to stay with the team, to re-enlist, to stay with us. We've seen the units that have been deployed to Los Angeles, and indicators of the ones that have been deployed to Washington, already saying, “This is not what I signed up for. This is crazy. I'm not, you know, a lawn maintenance team spreading mulch and raking up leaves.”
(...)
***The complete post is on NewsBusters***
