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Pentagon Officials Forced to Make Fewer Public Appearances to Avoid Provoking Trump

New rules limit the number of engagements chiefs are permitted.

Newly unearthed documents show senior U.S. Army officers have been ordered to make fewer public appearances, in an effort to avoid triggering showdowns with President Donald Trump. The Pentagon rules, which have been in existence for about nine months, specify that only one senior military leader and one civilian leader are allowed to appear at each “outside” non-government event each day. Online publication Defense One established the existence of the rule after asking the Office of the Secretary of Defense to explain why two of four senior DOD officials scheduled to speak at their event had suddenly canceled. “You and I both know what this is: an attempt to minimize the department’s profile to the president. Fewer speakers means fewer headlines means fewer angry tweets from the Lincoln Bedroom,” one former senior military official told Defense One.