The Pentagon was publicly dismissive of Trump’s pledge to employ the military to conduct mass deportations. “The Department does not comment on hypotheticals or speculate on what may occur,” a Defense Department spokesperson told The Intercept.
Behind the scenes, officials were exasperated. “It’s absolutely insane,” said one Pentagon official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the press on the matter. “I never thought I’d see the day when this was a ‘serious’ — put that in scare quotes — policy.” He said that the legal and logistical hurdles would be immense, and the proposal was “unrealistic and unserious.”
Another Defense Department official in a different office, who was also not authorized to speak with the press, had almost exactly the same reaction. “It’s insanity,” he said of Trump’s announcement.
You might be surprised what the feelings are of people in the Pentagon vs those in the services at large. The Pentagon is filled mostly with officers, not enlisted people. Officers are college educated and are responsible for leading teams of people. They take their oath of service EXTREMELY seriously, and seeing a commander in chief who spits in the face of this oath is not taken lightly. Seeing a commander in chief who risks the lives of their people for questionable reasons is not taken lightly. I was in the Pentagon the month before and the day after election… most people there are not Trump voters.
They may not like it, but it’s a different question whether they’ll disobey orders.
Plus, he can always dismiss the generals who disagree with him, and appoint new ones that do.