The article cites Trump's vow to fire "woke generals" — that is, generals who are reputed to be promoting "diversity" in the military at the expense of readiness.

There is another possibility, however, one that is much more discomforting — that Trump is consolidating his power as president and knows that a loyal military establishment will solidify and reinforce that consolidation of power.

According to an October 22, 2024, article in The Atlantic, in a private conversation in the White House heard by two people, Trump stated, "I need the kind of generals that Hitler had. People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders." The same article, however, points out that a Trump spokesman named Alex Pfeiffer denied that Trump ever said that. "This is absolutely false," Pfeiffer declared.

However, regardless of whether Trump made the statement or not, the sentiment expressed in the statement is consistent with Trump's mindset and modus. Trump is a man who demands absolute loyalty from his acolytes and will not brook opposition or dissent.

Trump learned the importance of having the national-security establishment on his side after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. Unwilling to acknowledge that he had been defeated fair and square, Trump insisted that the election had been "stolen" from him. It is a claim, of course, that he and his acolytes make to this very day. Given that conviction, it was clear that the last thing that Trump wanted to do was vacate the office of the presidency in 2021. After all, if he was certain he won the election, why wouldn't he insist on staying in office?

That's obviously why he sat back and simply watched while his protesting supporters were barnstorming the Capitol on January 6. He was clearly hoping that their protests would result in a final certification that Trump had won the election. That was also clearly why he was pressuring officials in various states to certify him as the winner of the election.