4-Star General Opens Up a Can of Whup-Ass on Donald Trump

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Hoo boy. Tonight is national security night at the Democratic convention. Retired General John Allen just gave a stemwinder of a speech delivered in the tones of a drill sergeant and about as hawkish as anything you’ve ever seen at a Republican convention. As Paul Begala put it, he opened up a huge can of whup-ass on Donald Trump. Allen’s speech came right after a very good speech from the father of a Muslim soldier who died in Iraq, and right before a speech by a Medal of Honor winner. The convention floor was practically shaking for all three.

Given Donald Trump’s wishy-washy attitude toward military intervention, the Democrats have really stolen the national security mantle from the Republicans, who own it outright in most years. From an electoral standpoint, this is obviously great for Democrats. From an overseas intervention standpoint, it might be a little scary. It’s great to steal the GOP’s thunder, but do we really want to encourage Hillary Clinton’s already hawkish instincts?

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate