Can The Military Remain Apolitical?

Military uniform with an American flag over it.
Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash. Unsplash+ License obtained by IVN Editor Shawn Griffiths.
Author: Dan Sally
Published: 16 Jun, 2025
Updated: 18 Jun, 2025
1 min read

Last week, Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles over the objections of state leaders, delivered a highly partisan speech to uniformed troops at Fort Bragg, and held a military parade in Washington, D.C. on his birthday.

None of these actions are entirely without precedent, but taken together, they raise a pressing question: Can the U.S. military remain apolitical in an era of hyper-partisanship and hyperpolarization?

Dan and Shawn dig into the historical context of domestic troop deployments, the shift to an all-volunteer force, and how political realignment may be reshaping the military’s cultural identity and threatening America's tradition of an apolitical military.

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