IHIP News - Trump Abusing Our Troops and Turning Them Against Citizens?! with Rep. Jason Crow

Episode Date: June 11, 2025

Trump says Americans who protest his absurd birthday parade will be met with tremendous force. Order our new book, join our Patreon Cult, and more by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/ivehaditpodcast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trump is using an authoritarian play with the United States military. It is incredibly dangerous. We're all watching it. And today we have Representative Jason Crowe to weigh in on this. He has served in the military and he's going to be an absolute expert. Congressman, I'm so happy to have you on today. How are you? I'm doing okay in light of everything going on.

It's pretty troubling coming out of LA and everywhere else with this administration, there's no doubt. I want to play this clip for you and get your feedback. We won the war and we're the only country that didn't celebrate it. And we're going to be celebrating big on Saturday. We're going to have a lot of, and if there's any protest that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force, by the way. For those people that want to protest,

they're going to be met with very big force. And I haven't even heard about a protest, but, you know, this is people that hate our country. But they will be met with very heavy force. This is one of the... This is the man that has called veterans suckers and losers, the man who refused to go to a U.S. military cemetery in Europe because it was raining, the man who's sitting here right now cutting 80,000 jobs from the VA, firing veterans from the federal government.

This is crazy. This is the man who's going to spend $50 million on a Trump vanity parade this coming Saturday on his birthday. Not coincidentally, but we have veterans living in barracks that are falling apart around the world. A man who's going to spend another $140 million deploying the National Guard in the Marine Corps to LA, unwanted and unneeded, to basically try to intimidate his political opponents and Americans. It is troubling on so many levels. Yesterday he was at Fort Bragg and he had a lot of soldiers behind him and they were actively engaged in booing former president Biden, in booing

the sitting governor of California, Gavin Newsom, of booing trans Americans. And it was very chilling to see those clips. And I, as somebody, I've never been in the military. You've served in the military. This is truly unprecedented. Is it not to have active soldiers engaging in that type of hollering and heckling while the president of the United States is demeaning fellow citizens? It was chilling. And I actually served in that unit. I served in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg and to see paratroopers being used

as a prop and being goaded into politics, which sent a shiver down my spine. It just shows you the complete lack of respect that Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth have for the institution of the military, for what it stands for, for the fact that they take an oath to the Constitution, not any one man or political party. These are deeply dangerous people that don't understand the fundamentals of how our society works and how democracy works. And we are working hard to figure out how to combat it, right? We

have to preserve the independence and the integrity of the military, an institution that has been so important to my life and what I've done throughout my life. And it's a really big challenge for us. When you look at this parade coming up on Saturday, you're also seeing counter, no king protests all over the country. Trump's made it very clear. He knows exactly that these protests are coming because he says he didn't. And he keeps saying a strong force. I, in my mind, I am concerned that he is going to be sending National Guard, a la Marines all over the country for these peaceful protests. What is your concern level

for that type of action? Oh, I'm beyond concerned. I think he's going to do it. I think there's no question in my mind that he's going to do it. Donald Trump has been just waiting for this opportunity. From day one, he's been waiting for the opportunity to federalize National Guard and to send active duty and look at his executive order. His executive order activating these troops actually never mentions California once. In addition to that, it says he can activate any time, any place, and for any duration. This executive order is meant to expand the use of the military to other places around the country. That is why every American, regardless of your political affiliation, should be deeply concerned about this.

Right? So not only that, let's talk about a couple of components of this. Number one, inserting troops into a civil disturbance situation almost never deescalates it. Right? Our history is rife with examples of how this ends poorly. Number two, he actually doesn't have the legal basis to do this, right? Under the law, the president can only do it

if there's an invasion by a foreign nation, a rebellion, or it's needed by local law enforcement or requested by local law enforcement. No, none of those apply here. Right. And number three, his executive order sets an unbelievable precedent that he is going to use to do this around the country. OK, so the way I see it, this man ran against the enemy from within.

He said it nonstop on the campaign trail. And what he's talking about are you, me, her, those are the people they've identified, anybody who disagrees with the cult leader. And let's not mince words here. This is a personality cult, and all authoritarians have a personality cult. And that's what we're up against.

And you were talking about how do we preserve the military? We have the biggest obsequious sycophant I've ever seen in my life, an untreated alcoholic, Pete Hegseth, running the military right now who grandstanded in front of these troops talking about culture wars to the United States troops. And then they are trying to get the troops against us. My fear is that they are priming the troops that we're the enemy and they're priming the American people that the troops are going to be in your everyday life. And this is such authoritarian insanity that the president of the United States is more triggered by a rainbow flag than he is Vladimir Putin. It is desperate. It just

reeks of desperation and just the weakest American leadership I have ever seen in my entire life. What is your take on that? Yeah, it's appalling. And that's our challenge. That is our task, is to not allow him to do that. You know, to go to our service members, to go to our guardsmen and women, to go around the country to everybody and say, this man is not patriotic. He does not care about veterans. He does not care about troops.

He cares about himself. He cares about his own power. That is the through line to everything this man does. Let's look at the facts. Let's look at how he's turning this back on veterans. Let's look at how he's wasting hundreds of billions of dollars on military systems that the Department of Defense isn't even asking for. Let's talk about how he's spending money for vanity parades while our troops are living in deplorable barracks. Let's talk about all of that because the facts matter.

They still do. And the facts show very clearly what this man is concerned about and what he's not. So that is our challenge and that's what we need to be doing every day all day to all Americans. I'm wondering, we have been somewhat disappointed with the leadership in the House and the Senate and Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries because it seems like they're too little, too late constantly. Consensus, I would think, is that this going on in LA is just the very first step. Is there momentum in Congress to take absolute action, fiery action, immediate action against this administration?

Because I feel like we're all starving for our leaders in Congress to stand up and fight for us. Well, I'll point out what has happened, which is very significant, and that is on the big votes in the House, every single Democrat united in opposition against these big bills that the Republicans are putting through. That doesn't happen very often, and that takes a lot of work, and it takes a lot of leadership, and that is significant. Then you look at in the committee level,

you look at the fiery opposition and the oversight we're doing. I would recommend people tune into these committee hearings and how we're taking it to them all the time and calling them out. Tomorrow, Pete Hegseth is becoming our armed services. We are not holding back on this guy, right? Because he disgusts me. He disgusts me, this guy, right? He talks about bravado and

the warrior ethos and being savage and going after the enemy. This guy is full of shit, right? He's never done that. He's never done that. He wants other people to do it, He's never done that. He's never done that. He wants other people to do it. It's the worst of the worst. And it makes me so damn mad that somebody like that is in charge of one of our most sacred institutions and in charge of our men and women that we entrust in.

So we are taking it. Oh, and by the way, the other thing, the big thing we're taking it to, I'm the co-chair of recruiting for the DCCC right now. So I am laser focused on finding candidates, finding those candidates to flip 35 districts to take power back. Because one thing is true about Donald Trump,

he cares about power. So we're gonna take it from him. I think that is so important. And anytime you wanna come give a town hall in a red district, we are in a flippable district in Oklahoma City, Stephanie Bices District. And like all MAGA people, she claims to be pro-life, yet votes against issues that help families and children consistently and constantly. And the people of Oklahoma City, specifically the children and women of Oklahoma City suffer.

Oklahoma is ranked 50th dead last and best places for women to live, which is the worst place for women to live. And this city is completely purple. It is 50 50 and that is such a flippable state. So anytime you want to come here to host, because I don't think she's done it, I think she's too chicken shit to do it. And this is a city that could be flipped and we will gladly host you.

I accept, I accept the invitation. I'm coming. Good, okay, good. Let's do it. Let's do it. And I wanna talk a little bit about the, there seems to be this culture in America that extends to the military.

And it is this kind of manosphere, MAGA coated stuff where you see you're on a plane and you see the flag with the line through it and all, you know, they have grenades on it and lions and all of that stuff. In the military, there seems to be a place where a lot of men have found a home, and I'm glad for that because I think that the military can offer an opportunity for education and a future for people. But from the polling that I saw, it seems like the military voted by majority for Trump, which is fascinating to me considering all of the generals who worked with him in

Trump 1.0, came out and said, this guy is a fascist. This guy wants to be like Hitler. This guy asked me if he could shoot protesters, peaceful protesters. Bone spurs, draft dodger, just like the George W. Bush administration was when they dicked over John Kerry. I feel like beyond Trump, Congressman, there is a deep moral flaw in this country right now that the Trump problem could be dealt with, either by his age because he's not a spring chicken, or you'd flip the house and he is impeached immediately when you recover power. But beyond that, Trumpism lives on

and there is just this decay, a lack of empathy, lack of courage, lack of conviction, the worship of money and powerful men over somebody's own self-interest that deeply troubles me. Yeah, what is becoming clear to me is on the military piece, first of all, the Democrats, me, I'll just speak for me. I am I am pro-military, right? And what I mean by that is I believe in civilian control of the military. I believe in a diverse force that represents America. I believe in making sure that we only use military force when absolutely necessary and that we reform more power so we don't have these endless wars. I believe in making sure we treat

our military and our veterans right both during service and after service and we have a sacred obligation to do that. And I believe that being tough and having a warrior culture includes compassion and includes empathy and includes a focus on reducing civilian casualties. That if we do those things, that's when we are strong. When we lead with our moral authority, just as much as with our sticks and our strength. That's what I believe. But what I also know has become very clear

is that this administration is trying to battle for the soul of our men and women in uniform. They are trying to turn their back on all the things that I just talked about. They're trying to make it a political wing of the mega movement. They're trying to change the fundamental aspects of what our military has been for so long and what has served America. That focus on the constitution, that focus on defending the country, not one president or one institution. It's very clear that Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump, and all the minions in the White House are turning their backs on all of that and trying to change it. And that should disturb and scare every American.

So there's no doubt that we are in a battle for the soul of one of our most sacred institutions. And it's one that I take extremely seriously. Leave our listeners with a little bit of guidance and hope. And the way I see it is other generations before us fought these fights. You think about the civil rights movements and you know around the 60s we all saw the footage we saw these veterans that came back from

Vietnam that then were just shit on little girls trying to walk into schools and the angry protesters screaming slurs at her and they this country fought and stood up for it and I'll be damned if all of us that are in this country right now do not rise to this moment. And it's going to be painful to watch the breathtaking insecurity on display and having the tanks and all of the crap to feed a broken man that can't even blend his makeup for television.

To watch all of these troops get degraded and debased, to support a man whose ego will never be full. What advice do you have for Americans in your district and beyond as we head into this atrocious, atrocious weekend? How should we stomach this? What can we do? How can we protest?

How do we get momentum to fight this like the generations before us have fought injustice? Because what we're seeing in LA is injustice. And when decent people see injustice, we rise up against it. And what we're seeing this weekend with the dipshit's birthday party is injustice. It's demeaning to our country and we have to rise up against it. What do you? What advice do you give to all Americans as we watch this incoming shit show?

How can we get through this? Well, with regard to the parade, it's not enough to be against something. We also have to be for something. We have to present a contrast, right? And what I've been saying is the 250th anniversary of the Army, an institution that precedes the country, right, and my beloved service,

that is worth celebrating and honoring. It's worth holding up and saying, yes, this is an important thing, let's honor it, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do that. Go and volunteer at a veteran's nursing home, plant a flag on a veteran's grave, engage in acts of service, because that is what's in the best spirit of honoring our military, and that shows a difference from Trump's vanity parade. So we're not anti-military. We want to encourage the highest ideals of what our military

can be when it's at its best. So that's number one. Number two is I think a lot about history and all those examples you just talked about, the movement for women's suffrage, the greatest generation, the civil rights movement, and the freedom riders. Those have always been deep struggles that people have sacrificed incredible amounts for given their lives for in America. The history of this country is always a battle between our highest ideals and some of our worst impulses. Generation after generation of America has stepped up to win that battle, which is ongoing, always.

And the nature of leadership is you never get to choose your moment. There are these moments in American history that will dictate the direction we go. And I just listed a few of them. We're in one now, again. We didn't ask for it. We didn't wake up and say, boy, I wanted to live

in one of the most consequential moments in our nation's history, in a moment of polarization, of extremism, of deep danger. We didn't ask for it, but that's not our choice. We're leaders, and our choice is only whether or not we're going to stand up and give all of ourselves for this project in the moment that has been given to us. I really, I love everything you said and I think that you brought up a very important point that I hadn't thought about and that is to be against, you also have to believe in something. And I like your encompassing compound feeling

about what Trump is doing is completely wrong. But we do support the military used in the ways in which you describe because our defense is important and it can be a pathway for so many people to have a career and have a life they didn't imagine. And I think that's just a very valuable point for Democrats going forward, not to just tear everything down.

Um, Congressman, we just love having you on. I can't wait to host you in Oklahoma city. Thank you so, so much for your time. Thanks for having me as always. And I hope to see you in person. Yes. Yes. Okay.

All right. Thank you. Uh-huh. Bye-bye. person. Yes. Yes. Okay. All right. Thank you. Bye bye.