MSNBC host Jen Psaki, once former President Biden’s press secretary, ignited controversy on Wednesday by openly raising the prospect of U.S. military personnel “questioning” the orders of President Donald Trump.
Her remarks, made during an interview with Maryland’s Democratic governor Wes Moore, highlighted the increasingly partisan rhetoric surrounding America’s armed forces.
Psaki, now host of The Briefing, pressed Moore about what she described as a “bizarre, politicized event” where Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addressed senior military leaders earlier in the week. Trump’s speech, Psaki said, was full of “bonkers moments” and references to “enemies” within the United States.
“I just wonder if we’re in a different moment where there should be some questioning,” Psaki mused. “How do you think about it?”
Moore, himself a veteran, responded that while service members swear an oath to follow the commander-in-chief, they only obey “lawful” orders. He recounted a conversation with a fellow veteran who said, “It’s normal to disagree with the commander-in-chief. But I don’t know if it’s normal to be embarrassed by him.”
Moore said the military oath obliges members to uphold the Constitution and “follow the lawful orders of the commander-in-chief.” As governor, he emphasized, he issues “lawful orders” to the Maryland National Guard, and suggested service members may lack that same confidence in Trump.
“I think there’s a lot of people who, right now, when they heard the words from the commander-in-chief yesterday about talking about using American cities as training grounds, they’re not receiving lawful orders,” Moore argued. “In fact, they’re receiving orders that are in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution and of U.S. law.”
Moore also targeted Hegseth, calling him “the most unqualified secretary of defense this country has ever seen.” He claimed that Trump’s remarks were not only “nonsensical” but also “unlawful,” putting the military in what he called a “really complicated situation.”
Psaki pressed further: “What can they do?”
“They don’t have to follow them,” Moore replied, stressing again that “lawful orders” are the standard. “We follow the instructions of our commander-in-chief. We follow the Constitution of the United States of America. But … that word lawful matters. You do not have to follow unlawful orders.”
For conservatives, Psaki’s exchange with Moore underscored a disturbing trend: mainstream figures on the left entertaining, even encouraging, defiance of the commander-in-chief. Trump’s opponents have long accused him of destabilizing democratic norms, yet here was a former White House official openly suggesting that America’s military might selectively reject presidential orders.
Moore, while careful to couch his comments in constitutional terms, reinforced that notion by labeling Trump’s directives “unlawful” without legal adjudication. His attacks on Hegseth’s qualifications and Trump’s leadership echoed the partisan tone of Psaki’s questioning.
What was billed as an interview on national security revealed instead the depth of Democratic unease with Trump’s presidency — and the willingness of Biden’s former spokesperson to float ideas that many conservatives view as dangerously close to encouraging insubordination within the armed forces.
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