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Military's independent newspaper captured by MAGA
Military’s independent newspaper captured by MAGA
Stars and Stripes is the latest casualty in the Trump administration's Pentagon purge
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published May 3, 2026 6:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) Donald Trump is escalating his MAGA takeover of the United States military. One of the great strengths of American democracy is that the country’s military is nonpartisan, a trait that ensures officers and service members alike obey the Constitution and serve civilian authority. The president rejects this foundational principle. In his mind, America’s military belongs to him, a view taken right out of the authoritarian playbook.
After a spate of firings due to infighting ranging from building Navy ships to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s apparent refusal to promote officers of color and women, along with the purging of the Pentagon’s so-called diversity hires, Trump’s politicization of the armed forces now includes the takeover of Stars and Stripes, the military’s congressionally-authorized independent newspaper. First published 160 years ago during the Civil War, it has been in continuous publication since World War II, with its editorial independence guaranteed by Congress. The act is a preview and warning of far worse things to come.
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Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell described the new direction: “no more ‘woke content,’ and a ‘focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY.'”
In an essay last Thursday in Stars and Stripes, Smith described being fired in terms that were impersonal, precise and chilling. “This happened in the coldest way possible: DA Form 3434 stated that my last day as ombudsman for Stars and Stripes is April 28,” she wrote. “No reason is given. But: ‘This action is not grievable.’ No one should be surprised that they’re kicking out the one person charged by Congress with protecting Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence.” .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2026/05/03/militarys-independent-newspaper-captured-by-maga/
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These moves follow Hegseth’s February announcement that beginning in 2027, the Pentagon will no longer allow military personnel to attend Ivy League and other elite institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Brown, Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In a video in
posted on social media, the secretary declared that such universities and colleges “have gorged themselves on a trust fund of American taxpayer dollars, only to become factories of anti-American resentment and military disdain” that had “replaced the study of victory and pragmatic realism with the promotion of wokeness and weakness.” In their place, military personnel will be steered toward Hillsdale, Liberty University and other schools judged to be ideologically-aligned with the Pentagon’s goals.
posted on social media, the secretary declared that such universities and colleges “have gorged themselves on a trust fund of American taxpayer dollars, only to become factories of anti-American resentment and military disdain” that had “replaced the study of victory and pragmatic realism with the promotion of wokeness and weakness.” In their place, military personnel will be steered toward Hillsdale, Liberty University and other schools judged to be ideologically-aligned with the Pentagon’s goals.