Internal National Guard assessments reviewed by The Washington Post reveal widespread unease over President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy more than 2,300 Guard troops to Washington, D.C The documents describe the mission as “leveraging fear,” driving a “wedge between citizens and the military,” and generating “shame” among some service members and veterans.
“The assessments, which have not been previously reported, underscore how domestic mobilizations that are rooted in politics risk damaging Americans’ confidence in the men and women who serve their communities in times of crisis,” Alex Horton wrote in the Post. “The documents reveal, too, with a rare candor in some cases, that military officials have been kept apprised that their mission is viewed by a segment of society as wasteful, counterproductive, and a threat to long-standing precedent stipulating that U.S. soldiers — with rare exception — are to be kept out of domestic law enforcement matters.”
National Guard officials tracked online sentiment and media coverage, finding 53% of reactions negative, compared to only 2% positive. “Trending videos show residents reacting with alarm and indignation,” one report noted, highlighting fears that the Guard’s presence made people feel afraid more often than safe. The findings were not intended for public release.
Trump has defended the deployment as necessary to combat crime, though D.C. police data showed crime was already declining before his August “emergency” declaration and had earlier hit a 30-year low. Trump has publicly boasted about the move’s success, claiming Washingtonians could finally dine out safely, even as restaurateurs say the deployment itself has scared off customers. Internal Guard reports, meanwhile, reveal troops feeling “fatigue, confusion, and demoralization,” with one assessment comparing the mission to “just gardening.”
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A federal judge recently ruled Trump’s earlier mobilization of nearly 5,000 troops to Los Angeles violated a law that bars the military from acting as domestic police, though an appeals court allowed the deployment to continue while the case proceeds.
Jason Dempsey, a former Army officer now at the Center for a New American Security, told the Post that the optics of a politically-driven mission could damage recruitment. “If they’re picking up trash, they’re not here for a security emergency,” Dempsey told the Post. “There’s no clearer metric than that.”
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