Why Troops Are Blowing Whistle on Trump: Senator

Summary

The Daily Beast Podcast — Episode Summary

Episode Title: Why Troops Are Blowing Whistle on Trump: Senator
Air Date: December 8, 2025
Host: Hugh Docherty (sitting in for Joanna Coles)
Guests: Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Major General Paul Eaton (Ret.)

---

Episode Overview

This episode tackles the explosive revelations of whistleblowers in the military expressing concerns over questionable orders stemming from the Trump administration and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The discussion also covers recent controversial military actions, issues of command legality, and the broader implications for democracy, oversight, and civil-military relations. Through candid interviews with Senator Elissa Slotkin and Major General Paul Eaton, listeners get an inside look at why current and former service members are speaking out and what this means for the U.S. armed forces and American democracy.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Military Whistleblower Concerns on Trump Administration ([02:31], [22:54])

• Senator Slotkin recounts direct conversations with service members—particularly National Guard and intelligence officers—who are increasingly anxious about being asked to use their skills domestically against U.S. citizens.
  • "All of my fellow intel officers are worried that we’re going to be asked to do intel collection and exploitation inside the United States…with American citizens." ([02:31], [22:54])
• The sense of unease has grown alongside the administration’s ambiguous—and sometimes blatantly illegal—directives, prompting troops to seek clarity and reassurance from lawmakers.

---

2. The “Boat Strike” Controversy & Transparency Failures ([05:19], [05:40])

• Recent strikes on a Venezuelan boat allegedly carrying drugs were reportedly conducted under secret legal justification, with both Congress and service members left in the dark.
• Slotkin criticizes Secretary Hegseth’s lack of transparency:
  • "The signal gate controversy is just an unwillingness to own up and be transparent... You own up…and he just seems allergic to doing that." ([05:40])
  • She contrasts this with her experience under both Democratic and Republican Defense Secretaries, who "owned up" to mishaps.
• Lawmakers, including those on the Armed Services Committee, are being denied access to the full list of targeted narco-terrorist groups and the legal justifications for these actions.
• Slotkin stresses: "Show your math…if you think we need to be in an armed conflict like this." ([10:04])

---

3. Comparing Targeted Strikes: Drug Cartels vs. Terror Groups ([07:45], [08:14])

• Slotkin explains the moral and legal distinctions:
  • While drug cartels inflict harm, they don’t fit the typical “armed conflict” frame reserved for terror groups with direct intent to kill Americans.
  • "It’s a different apples-to-oranges sometimes." ([09:07])

---

4. Video Calling Out Illegal Orders and Presidential Retaliation ([11:20], [13:27])

• Slotkin and fellow Democrats produced a video reminding troops of their duty to refuse illegal orders—an action that drew direct ire from both Trump and Hegseth.
  • The fallout included death threats and calls for their arrest.
  • "If you walk into a crowded bar and someone yells ‘hey ugly,’ and you turn around, you’re probably ugly." ([12:55])
  • "The President wants to talk about something else, but I think the reaction to it tells you more about them than it does about the six of us who made this…video." ([12:55])
• FBI has initiated inquiries into the lawmakers involved, and threats against them and their families have increased.

---

5. Signalgate: Mishandling of Classified Information ([16:26], [16:59])

• Hegseth’s use of unsecured Signal chats to share operations information is flagged as egregious and hypocritical, especially given his history of attacking others (e.g., Hillary Clinton on classified material).
  • Slotkin: "[If] any rank and file soldier put...the type, location and timing of an attack on the open internet...they’d be fired." ([16:59])
• Hegseth’s defense—that as Secretary he can unilaterally declassify information—is described as "real questionable" and a failure of leadership.
• Lack of accountability persists; IG's report is likely the "only accountability we’re going to get." ([19:13])

---

6. Broader Civil-Military Strains and “Weaponizing” the Federal Government ([24:30], [25:09])

• Reports pour in from anxious troops and families, fearful of being asked to violate their oath or conduct operations on American soil.
• Slotkin underscores the danger of undermining trust in the military domestically: "One of the worst things that can happen from any administration...is that American citizens doubt their military." ([24:54])
• The episode suggests a deterioration of oversight and the rise of "yes men" in key military appointments—"just literally chosen to do whatever the president’s going to say above anything else, including above their oath." ([25:09])

---

7. Insights from Major General Paul Eaton ([36:51] onward)

• Eaton bluntly critiques Hegseth’s qualifications, ethical compass, and fitness for office:
  • "He does not have the gravitas…the experience…the ethical base…he is demonstrating this on a daily basis." ([36:51])
• SignalGate is described as a disastrous breach: "The level of detail that Mr. Hicks has put out in a public space would have given gunners in Vietnam plenty of opportunity to prepare the worst they could deliver." ([36:51])
• On the chain of command and illegal orders:
  • "If it smells bad, don’t do it. If it smells bad, go to your lawyer." ([39:59])
  • Current relations described as “unprecedented,” with military leaders “looking over their shoulders,” unsure of support from civilian superiors ([40:35])
• The use of SEAL Team 6 and the Navy for narco-interdiction—roles better suited for the Coast Guard—is heavily criticized:
  • "This is the purview of the Coast Guard…This is not what I want the American Navy to do." ([46:22])
• He invokes historical precedent (Vietnam, Mogadishu) to warn of unclear missions and blurred command lines, framing the current moment as perilous for morale, legality, and strategy.
  • "Wars are easy to start. They take on a nature of their own very quickly. The men and women who are going to be at risk…deserve better." ([58:35])

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s style:
  "Donald Trump often has the wrong answer to the right question."
  —Senator Slotkin ([10:04])

• On the fallout from speaking out:
  "When the President of the United States threatens you with death, we shouldn’t be surprised when people across the country do that and worse."
  —Senator Slotkin ([13:27])

• Military guidance under ambiguous orders:
  "If it smells bad, don’t do it. If it smells bad, go to your lawyer."
  —Major General Paul Eaton ([39:59])

• On the “SignalGate” hypocrisy:
  "If any rank and file soldier put…that information out…they’d be fired."
  —Senator Slotkin ([16:59])

• On civil-military peril:
  "I have never seen a more fraught nature of civilian military relations in my life."
  —Major General Paul Eaton ([51:05])

• On the risk to democracy:
  "Only our Congress can help the men and women of the armed forces. And every American citizen can join in…by contacting their representative and their two senators and ask the question, ‘what the hell is going on in the Pentagon civilian leadership?’"
  —Major General Paul Eaton ([52:18])

---

Key Timestamps

• [02:31], [22:54]: Troops quietly approach Slotkin with fears about being ordered to target Americans.
• [05:40]: Slotkin lays out transparency and legal concerns about recent military strikes.
• [12:55]: Reaction and retaliation from Trump/White House to Democrats’ "lawful orders" video.
• [16:59]: Signalgate and the stakes of mishandling classified information.
• [22:54]: National Guard intel officer’s testimony—military worried about being asked to spy domestically.
• [36:51]: General Eaton’s searing assessment of Hegseth’s failures.
• [39:59]: Advice: When in doubt, don’t obey unclear or unlawful orders.
• [46:22]: Eaton denounces use of the Navy for law enforcement functions—"This is not what I want the American Navy to do."
• [51:05]: Recognition of unprecedented civil-military distrust.
• [58:35]: General Eaton on the dangers of escalation and advice regarding Venezuela.

---

Tone and Perspective

Throughout, both Slotkin and Eaton are candid, direct, and at times alarmed about the risks posed by current civilian leadership to both military effectiveness and democracy itself. The tone is urgent, informed, and bracing, spotlighting the voices of public servants who feel a duty to speak up before lines are irreparably crossed.

---

Summary

This episode of The Daily Beast Podcast delivers a forceful, revealing look at why members of the military are increasingly blowing the whistle under Trump’s leadership. Through the frank testimony of Senator Elissa Slotkin and Major General Paul Eaton, listeners learn of internal anxieties, legal quagmires, absent oversight, and the serious threat of politicized, unlawful use of America’s armed forces. The program insists on the need for transparency, accountability, and congressional oversight—before the chain of command, or the nation’s norms, break entirely.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

Dog owners we love to spoil our pups and more than anything, we want them to live long, healthy, comfortable lives. But here's the thing a lot of us don't realize when our dogs are trying to tell us something's wrong. Constant paw licking, rubbing on the couch, or obsessively eating grass can all be signs of allergies. Because 90% of a dog's immune system lives in the gut, supporting digestion is key. That's where Better Wild Allergy Relief Soft Chews come in. These veterinarian approved chews use an ancestral blend of wolf probiotics called Ancestral Adv Advantage to strengthen your dog's natural defenses. Better Wild even offers chews for joint support, dental health and a digestive meal Topper all science backed solutions to help your dog feel their best. Right now, Better Wild is offering our listeners up to 40% off of your [e-mail] podcast that's betterwild.com podcast for up to 40% off your order. Betterwild.com podcast hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

You a very happy half off holiday.

[Commercial Narrator]

Because right now Mint Mobile is offering.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

You the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah, give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required New customer offer for first 3 months only Speed flow auger 35 gigabytes of network spizzy taxes and fees extra See mintmobile.com.

[Commercial Narrator]

Hi, this is Joe from Vanta.

[Hugh Docherty]

In today's digital world, compliance regulations are.

[Commercial Narrator]

Changing constantly and earning customer trust has never mattered more.

[Hugh Docherty]

Vanta helps companies get compliant fast and stay secure with the most advanced AI.

[Commercial Narrator]

Automation and continuous monitoring out there.

[Hugh Docherty]

So whether you're a startup going for your first SoC2 or ISO 27001 or.

[Commercial Narrator]

A growing enterprise managing vendor risk, Vanta makes it quick, easy and scalable.

[Hugh Docherty]

And I'm not just saying that because I work here.

[Commercial Narrator]

Get [e-mail] most people overpay for car insurance not because they're careless, but because switching feels like too much hassle. That's why there's Jerry, your proactive insurance assistant. Jerry compares rates side by side from over 50 top insurers and helps you switch with ease. Jerry even tracks market rates and alerts you when it's best to shop. No spam calls, no hidden fees. Drivers who save with Jerry could save over $1,300 a year. Switch with confidence. Download the Jerry app or visit Jerry AI AC Today.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

I was at an event and this young man who works here in Washington came up to me, pulled me aside after the event, you know, got out of earshot and said, I just wanted to thank you. I'm part of a National Guard, you know, in the Midwestern state, and I'm an Intel officer and I just went to a training and all of my fellow intel officers are worried that we're going to be asked to do intel collection and exploitation inside the United States. Right. That the skills we learn to protect against foreign adversaries, which is the job that we're now maybe going to be asked to do that inside a detention facility or inside somewhere in the United States with American citizens.

[Hugh Docherty]

Welcome to the Daily Beast podcast. I'm Hugh Docherty. I'm executive editor of the Daily Beast. I'm taking a seat from Joanna Coles. Relax. This is not a coup. She will be back soon and is absolutely reading your comments from everywhere that she is. To those of you wondering, this is my Scottish accent. I want to say a big thank you to those of you who have commented on it before. Apologies to those of you who are still struggling with it, especially the YouTube closed captioning software, which has not yet had its Scottish upgrades. I want to give a big shout out to our members who are watching. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's because of your support that we are able to bring you such great guests. And today we've got not one, but two brilliant guests who we're going to talk about the week from Hell for Pete Hegseth, what it means for the military, for our national security and for democracy. First, we're going to talk to Senator Elissa Slotkin. She is the Democratic senator from Michigan. She's a rising star in her party and most importantly, is steeped in the world of national security. She's a former CIA officer, a Pentagon leader. She served multiple tours in Iraq, and she has been outspoken about the risk that Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are going to give the military illegal orders. And she has some fascinating things to say about that, including the threats that she has received, speaking out not just from Trump, but shamefully, from people who have actually threatened her family. We're also going to speak about the state of Hegseth to a man who knows exactly what it's like to give orders, keep troops safe, and most importantly, obey the law. Major General Paul Eaton led operations in Bosnia, Somalia and Iraq. Before he retired. And he is blowing the whistle on just how bad Hexiv's leadership is for the troops. Senator Slotkin, thank you for joining us from the capital.

There are so many things that we could be talking about, but I think there's only one topic that has dominated D.C. for the last few days, and that is Pete Hegseth.

It's more than. It's, you know, it's multiple topics included in one. But I wanted to start with this.

Controversyis probably putting it mildlyover the strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs, which was shown to a number of legislators this week. And they, many of them came out and recoiled in horror at what they had seen. I was just wondering if you can start with your perspective on this.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Yeah, well, first of all, I was not one of those lawmakers who saw the video. I think it should be obviously made available to all of us on the Armed Services Committee at a minimum, and at this point, probably made public. But I think, look, part of the problem that Secretary Hegseth has been having in this controversy and the signal gate controversy is just an unwillingness to just kind of own up and be transparent. I worked for many secretaries of defense under Democratic administrations, Republican administrations. Stuff happens, right? I mean, stuff you don't want happens. But the buck stops with the secretary. You own up and you say, look, this is what's gone on. Here's the accountability. Let me come and talk to Congress about it, talk to the American people about it. And he seems just allergic to doing that, and it ends up making it a bigger controversy for him anyways, on the boat strike. I mean, I think in general, many of us have been concerned about, you know, us being in an armed conflict. America's in an armed conflict with a list of narco terrorists that we're not allowed to see. Right? Even the Armed Services Committee, they won't provide us the list of groups that we're going after. The legal justification for going after these folks is classified, and even the guys conducting the operations don't get access to it. And then the intel packages, you know, the sort of showing your math part of, you know, going after this boat or this group is not there. And I will tell you, a lot of us are sympathetic to going after these cartels, these drug runners. I said openly come to me, and we need to be more aggressive and more creative on how we go after these groups. But I was also involved in the operations against and targeting around Al Qaeda and isis. And you show your math, you come up to Congress, you say, this is why we're going after this group. This is what they've done, this is who we're targeting and this is the intel that's leading to it. So they haven't done the basics there. So I think all we're asking for is some basics.

[Hugh Docherty]

As you say, you've been involved in these sort of targeting operations before and some people in the MAGA world have been saying, well, Obama did it, that he killed, you know, he killed people from the air. He killed an American citizen, Al Awaqi. Is it the same? How do you make a distinction between that sort of, that sort of version and what people have seen or actually haven't seen happening in the Caribbean?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Yeah, well, I think, you know, certainly, and it's lots of administration, I mean, you know, the Obama, Bush, I mean, long list of American presidents that have authorized targeted operations against terrorists and, but the terrorist groups usually have a very clear agenda, stated agenda of targeting Americans, the homeland, our assets abroad and killing us. Right. I mean Al Qaeda is I think the, probably the perfect example. But ISIS too, like taking up a whole state lit in Syria and Iraq and wanting to kill Americans and attack the homeland. So what's different about the drug traffickers? It's not that what they're doing isn't reprehensible, it's are they in active armed conflict with the United States? Are they coming to kill Americans?

And then to me, what I think is really important is these ships that we're targeting, you know, are these leaders, are these, do they have intelligence? Is there something interesting there that's actually going to help us unwind these cartels? Or are they guys who were paid to take a boat full of cocaine, you know, from one place to another. So I, I just think it's a, it's a little bit of a different compare and contrast when you're talking about a group that has attacked the United States, like Al Qaeda, killed American citizens and continues to want to kill American citizens versus drug cartels that can be very dangerous because of what they ultimately sell inside the United States, but are not what I would define as someone in active armed conflict with the United States. So it's a different, a little bit of a different apples to oranges sometimes.

[Hugh Docherty]

Do you feel that Hegseth has his head round that difference or do you just not know because he won't even even talk to you?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

I think that there is a long held desire to go after these drug cartels and narco groups, what they sell, what they bring into the United States and How they fund their organizations do affect millions of Americans. And so I'm sympathetic to wanting to really step that up. And it was clear they came into this administration, like, how are we going to do that? There are about 100 different ways I can think of to be way more aggressive without just the strikes. Right. I mean, like I said, I like the intelligence that comes off of these folks. I like to grab the leaders and understand how they communicate and who runs the show and how do they get their weapons and how do they do, you know, how do they move drugs? So there's a bunch of different ways to do it. But what's clear is in the past, just kind of identifying these things and not doing anything about it also wasn't working for the United States. You know, Donald Trump often has the wrong answer to the right question. He often picks up on the right kernel of thing that we need to address. But his solutions just take us, just to me, to a very different place. So I think we had to do more against these drug cartels. But just show your math if you think we need to be in an armed conflict like this.

[Hugh Docherty]

Donald Trump and his questions and his answers appears that he is after you as well, rather directly with Hegseth. You and a group of Democratic lawmakers spoke in a video telling members of the armed forces they don't have to obey legal orders. When you were talking about that, did you have in mind what was going on in the Caribbean?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Yeah, I mean, we made that video, you know, three weeks ago or whatever. It was certainly not thinking that the president would go high and right, as we say at the Pentagon, on it like that. But because there was so many people coming to us who were, you know, on active duty, who were recent veterans, family members of service members who are coming to us individually and saying two things. One, I'm concerned I'm going to be sent in uniform to an American city like la, Chicago, Memphis, and I'm going to be asked to do things I either don't think are legal or I'm not trained for, and that's what do I do? And then this fall, it really turned and it became a lot of people who were involved in the operations around the Caribbean asking those same things. Hey, I'm not sure that I don't know if this is legal. I don't know if I'd be held accountable later, after this administration, I can't get a straight answer about whether this is legal or not. What do you think we should do? So we were hearing that there's a lot of juju in the system on that for months. And so that's why we made the video just restating the Uniform Code of Military justice. And.

You never know. And it happens in a week when the Epstein files are approved for release and all these things. And so the President wants to talk about something else, but I think the reaction to it tells you more about them than it does about the six of us who made this pretty simple video. You know, the best commentary I heard was from someone saying if you walk into a crowded bar and someone yells, hey, ugly, and you turn around, you're probably ugly. Right. And I think that was, to me.

Their reaction, number one of calling for us to be arrested, investigated, and then ultimately hung. You know, when the President of the United States threatens you with death, we shouldn't be surprised when people across the country do that and worse. So the threat picture completely changed for all of us. You know, we all have 247 security, and we had bomb threats at my house and my family's been targeted. But then the second shoe to drop was weaponizing the federal government against people who you disagree with. Right. So getting the FBI and pushing the FBI to do some sort of inquiry or investigation, obviously one of us is now being looked at for a military investigation. So to me, regardless of whether someone agrees with our video or not, I think, do we think it's normal and okay it for the president to threaten people with. With death and weaponize the federal government just when he disagrees with them? And felt a lot of people, especially back home, say, look, I don't. I didn't like that you made that video, or I didn't agree with your video, but you shouldn't be targeted for death because of that.

[Hugh Docherty]

Have you even heard from the FBI yet?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

The FBI reached out. This is all public. The FBI reached out through the Senate and House, you know, sort of legal advisors or legal folks and, you know, asking seemingly to start an inquiry. And we're waiting. We're kind of in the back and forth. We're waiting to hear what they're going to do. And, you know, I will wait to see what the next step is. But there certainly.

Took some action and reached out to us here officially. Yes.

[Hugh Docherty]

And how do you even respond to that? I mean, you know, as you say, presidents threatening people with death is an incredibly crazy thing to happen. What goes on inside your head when that happens?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

I think for me, you know, most of us, certainly the six of us who did that video have served in dangerous places. We've felt under threat before. I think the thing that's different is when it's targeting your family or your staff. Right. I mean, that's a. I signed up for this and this, you know. But the second part of it is I don't think anyone is proud of our politics right now. And I think the majority of Americans, no matter what side of the aisle they're on, don't think that we should be threatening each other with death and arrest when we disagree with each other. So I'm sort of, I'm all right, but I'm just sad for the country that this is the point we've come to. And it shouldn't be that if you decide to run for office, you should just expect this kind of weaponization of the government. That's not something that I think we want. Again, no matter whether you're a Democrat or Republican.

[Hugh Docherty]

Just to turn to the other aspect of this week with Hegseth, it was obviously, also, we've had the report into Signal Gate and you were talking about, you know, stretching the norms, might be putting it charitably about threatening people with death. But in Signalgate, it seems that Pete Hegseth used this Signal chat. He copied over secrets into it. And then his defense was, well, I get to declassify things and not secret. How concerned are you about one law for him and one law for everybody else?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Yeah, I mean, I think again, there's sort of a. There's the legal set of issues, but also there's just the leadership issues. And you know, just to be clear, if you, if any rank and file soldier put in an unclassified email on a commercial app, the time, location and type of military operation that was going to go on in the next two to four hours, they'd be fired. There'd be an investigation. There'd be an absolute accounting for that because they put people at risk. And actually, if the secretary had just said that, you know, if he had just said that months ago in May and just said, you know what, I was moving fast. These were operations that were going on in real time. I was trying to keep people informed. I made a mistake. I own up to it the way I would want any young officer or enlisted to own up to it, I swear to God, we wouldn't be talking about it right now. Right. Just like it could have been a one time on camera thing. And I'm going to, you know, redouble my efforts to only use the correct systems. I certainly would be done with it if he had just done that. So there's the legal issue of, you know, I'm the Secretary of Defense, and so just by me writing it into an email, I'm declassifying. I think that's real questionable. There are proper procedures for declassifying things and. But then secondly, it's just more of a leadership climate thing. Just you're, you're trying to set an example for the million people that you represent in the Defense Department. And any of them, I mean, the, the best commentary again I saw on that back when Signalgate happened was I have a close friend whose spouse was on one of the destroyers that was involved in those operations off Yem. And she said if we, we as spouses know that we can't put that kind of information out into the world, it's just like understood thing. The Facebook group for the spouses would never deign to put the type, location and timing of an attack on the open Internet. And the Secretary of Defense did it. So just, just own it and we could have moved on.

[Hugh Docherty]

Is there going to be some sort of accountability for this? Can you see that coming in some shape or form?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

I think that this report and the fact that we're all talking about it right now openly is probably the only accountability we're going to get. And I'm glad that the IG did the investigation. I think it's a low bar these days. IGs were all fired. Jags were all fired. So I'm glad that it happened. But I don't expect there's going to be much more formal accountability.

[Hugh Docherty]

Now. I know you tweeted about this earlier in the week. The hypocrisy involved in this as well, that Pete Hegseth, before he was in office, had certainly been somebody who spoke about obeying the laws of war. And he also, of course, as a Fox commentator, repeatedly went after Hillary Clinton for her server. I just. When you finally get to talk to him, are you going to raise this with them? It seems like almost a hallmark of his behavior now that there's the past hexith and there's the present hegseth.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Yeah, I think it's not just the secretary. I think that this is a sort of characteristic of a lot of people in Washington, which is there is no real center of gravity on an issue. You know, if something is unlawful for you because you're my political enemy, then I'm going to beat the drum on that. But if it's not appropriate, but it's my team team, I'm going to defend it till the last right. And I Think what's hard, especially in national security, is there are really things where you have to be able to call balls and strikes. It doesn't matter what political party the president's from. You know, a threat to the United States is a threat to the United States and military operation. You have to be straight about these things. And I think that's what's difficult, is that Pete Hegseth is the Secretary of Defense. Right. He's not some commentator on Fox who could just flip or a political, you know, guy who is working, supporting the president on political stuff. He's the Secretary of Defense. So we expect more from someone who's in charge of the greatest fighting force in the world. And so it just sticks out more. But that inability to just call a spade a spade when you see it on tough issues, you know, this is like, what I'm trying to say to all these folks is like, I'd be with them on some pretty aggressive things around the narco traffickers in the Caribbean. I'm like, I'm here for some of that. But you can't just get to pick and choose facts, and you can't pick and choose right and wrong just based on who said it. You got to have a center of gravity as the Secretary of Defense.

[Hugh Docherty]

I noticed, by the way, on the subject of.

Calling things by their name, you're not calling him Secretary of War, which I should say the Daily Beast does not recognize either. So. But it seems like renaming things, rebranding things seems to be part of the pattern here.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Yeah. And I think, I mean, the Secretary of Defense is the name. You can call yourself something different. But we went back and looked, and the power to rename things. Right. Because before it was the Secretary of Defense, before it was the Department of Defense, it was the Department of War. Right. Back in World War II era. And Congress changed the name after a big discussion. Congress hasn't changed the name. It's the Secretary of Defense. And, you know, people can call themselves what they want, but I'm going to follow the law.

[Hugh Docherty]

Have you had more people coming to you after this video? In the wake of what's happened in the Caribbean, have more people been raising concerns about lawful orders with you?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

I'll just give you a perfect example. Last night, 7:30pm Last night, I was at an event, and this young man who works here in Washington came up to me, pulled me aside after the event, you know, got out of earshot and said, I just wanted to thank you. I'm part of a National Guard in the Midwestern state. And I'm an intel officer, and I just went to a training, and all of my fellow intel officers are worried that we're going to be asked to do intel collection and exploitation inside the United States. Right. The skills we learn to protect against foreign adversaries, which is the job that we're now maybe going to be asked to do that inside a detention facility. Facility or inside somewhere in the United States with American citizens. So this is someone. And he said everyone was talking about it. That was the conversation quietly in the corners of the training. So this is not coming out of nowhere. And certainly since we made the video, people have been finding their way to us just to say, hey, we've been expressing this angst amongst ourselves. Thank you for saying something. And it certainly. I mean, I have to say it. I didn't expect it, but it certainly helped prompt a conversation that I think is an important conversation about the use of force in America. You know, how do we use our military? And I just feel very strongly that one of the worst things that can happen from any administration, but from this one in particular, is that American citizens doubt their military. They don't trust, you know, if you see someone in uniform in your city and they're asked to do something they're not trained for, and the president has been open, he said, we're gonna use our cities as training grounds. He said it in front of 800 general officers that American citizens want the military to be protecting them from foreign threats. Given our history, we do not want our military participating in things like arrest and detention and crowd control and having potential escalation in American cities. To me, that is a real strategic risk to the role of the military, which I love.

[Hugh Docherty]

How much of this is a hagseth and how much of it is just Trump?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

I think a lot of it is coming from the White House. And I think the president in this administration, different, I think a little bit from his last administration. He's really just picking people for jobs who are going to do whatever he says. Right. I don't think he's looking for that, like, kind of pushback and that the things that, like, you know, most CEOs will say they're looking for. Right. I want someone who will push back on me and tell me when I'm going off course. I don't think. I think this administration, he's looking for that. And we've seen in the folks who have come up, you know, I voted for some of Trump's nominees, especially on uniform military side, because I've known some of these folks, and I want someone in there who's going to uphold the values that I believe in and uphold the Constitution. But so many of these nominees that come through every day are just yes men who are literally chosen to do whatever the president's going to say above anything else, including above their oath.

[Hugh Docherty]

Administration 2019. You were one of the Democrats who came out quite early calling for him to be impeached on the Ukraine phone call. And I'm just wondering, how does this compare this time around? Is that on the table? Is that where your mind goes? Or is this something that it's three years and we have to find ways through it?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

You know, back then.

The Democrats had the House of Representatives. I mean, I think there was tools there. And I think, look, he went through two impeachments, and certainly the second one, given that he incited a riot and the armed engagement in this building where I'm sitting right now, I mean, so.

There are important strategic things that he has done. I would be happy with just basic oversight from my Republican colleagues in the committees that they chair.

I've watched them cede basic, basic oversight responsibilities. I think sometimes about what John McCain would be doing as chairman of the Armed Services Committee if he was alive today. And all I want is basic oversight. I'm not looking for them to get into a fight just to get into a fight. I'm looking for them to do oversight over something that's fundamental to who we are as Americans. So I don't think impeachment is really on the table, to be honest.

I'd be thrilled with basic oversight.

[Hugh Docherty]

How do you get your colleagues to go along with that? I mean, they obviously, as you say, they've ceded those opportunities. How do you get that back?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Look, I think some of my colleagues have been very open about fear, that they're literally acting out of fear. And now that I've been on the receiving end of it, I understand why that can be an effective tool. We can't let it govern our politics. That's the worst case scenario. But a lot of my colleagues will say openly, including to the press, yes, if we go against Trump, he's going to weaponize the political system and potentially the federal government against us. And death threats and my family and the whole thing. Okay? The only thing more powerful, I think, to a lot of elected officials than that sense of fear is the fear of losing their own elections. And I think what the only chance I see right now of a real wholesale change is if people feel like, like President Trump is a liability to them as elected officials rather than a bonus. And, you know, I think the elections we had a month ago, the elections that they had in Tennessee, obviously the midterm elections, will be a very important indicator. That to me is, I would not be surprised if you'd see more.

Sort of strength from my Republican colleagues correlated to the fact that, that Trump is maybe more of a boat anchor than a help to their election.

[Hugh Docherty]

His polling is obviously looks in that direction. Now, you're from a swing state or what is seen as a swing state. What's your feeling about where that's going to go?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

You know, I just don't think it's really rocket science. The Democrats at the top of the ticket lost Michigan this last time because the public perceived that Trump was more focused on cost of living than the Democrats. And that's still the galvanizing issue, that is whether you're in Manhattan or Kansas or Michigan or whatever, that whether people can afford the American dream or not is the galvanizing issue of our time. And when President Trump gets into a Cabinet meeting and says openly that, quote, affordability is a Democratic hoax, people are not stupid. They were talking about affordability when they had a Democrat in office, right? And I've been open, like Joe Biden tried to tell people for a year, you know, that the economy was better than it actually was. People know their own pocketbooks. They may not know fancy policy positions going on in Washington. They know how much their family saves and spends every month. And they know if they're able to save to get ahead. And so to me, the issue of those midterm elections, polling is fine. You know, we are all, you know, that's all we have. So we cling to it. I guess what is much more important to me is what is the economic situation going on in my state and what are the policies doing to improve or hurt their situation? And that that's going to be it. That's how they're going to vote, just like they did last time.

[Hugh Docherty]

Does this issue about. About boat strikes and about what Hegseth is doing? Is that cutting through? Do you hear it from voters?

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

You know, some. But any day of the week, people are like, can we just stop the chaos so that someone can lower are costs electricity, health care, housing, groceries and food services, something, right? So as much as I'm a national security person by training, and so I find these issues important, I do think they're important to who we are as Americans. Nothing comes close to the level of urgency on affordability and the American dream. Nothing.

[Hugh Docherty]

Well, that's a fantastic note to finish it on. Senator Slotkin, thank you for joining us us. It's been fascinating and educational and we would love to have you back anytime.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Thanks so much.

[Hugh Docherty]

And now a word from our sponsors.

[Sponsor Narrator]

You know that gift you get that everyone actually remembers? That's what an Aura frame does. I gave one to my business partner and he loves it. It's got all sorts of photos and videos of the two of us together and the best part? I can keep adding to it from anywhere straight straight from my phone. Every frame comes in a beautiful gift box and you can even add a personal message before it arrives. You can't wrap togetherness, but you can frame it for a limited time. Save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off Aura's best selling Carver mat frames named number one by Wirecutter by using promo code Daily Beast at the checkout. That's 8K U R A frames.com promo code daily Beast this deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Remember hello Fresh. They're the number one meal kit in America, making home cooking easier with chef crafted recipes delivered straight your door. This fall they're serving up something new. They've doubled their menu a hundred choices every week from seasonal dishes to recipes inspired by kitchens around the world. HelloFresh now has bigger portions to keep everyone satisfied. More than 15 high protein meals each week with grass fed rib eyes, lamb chops and veggie packed dishes with two or more vegetables per plate go to hellofresh.com dinner daily beast10fm now to get 10 free meals and a free breakfast for life. One per box with active subscription free meals applied as discount on first box. New subscribers only. Varies by plan. That's hellofresh.com dailybeast10fm to get 10 free meals and free breakfast for life. The holidays can really throw everything off. Travel, big meals, long work days. That's why I've been starting my mornings with AG1, the daily health drink that combines multivitamins, superfoods, antioxidants and pre and probiotics. And it's become my morning ritual. AG1 Next Gen delivers probiotics that help support digestion, which is a big help before those big turkey dinners. Right now AG1 has their best offer ever. Head to drinkag1.com.

And you'll get the welcome kit A morning person hat, a bottle of vitamin D3 and K2, a flavour sampler and the new sleep supplement AGZ. All free. A total of $126 in gifts. That's drinkag1.com DailyBeast your easiest step towards starting the day feature Feeling ready.

[Commercial Narrator]

I had one of those moments coming home after a late night flight and thinking maybe I should really upgrade my security. So I went with SimpliSafe. Most security systems, they wait until someone's already inside. SimpleLife is different. AI cameras spot a potential threat before they even reach your door. Then live agents step in, letting the person know that police will be dispatched if they don't leave. You can even trigger sirens or spotlights. I trusted to protect what matters most, my studio, my notes and yes, my family. And right now is the perfect time. This month, only 50% off any new system go to SimpliSafe.com DailyBeast SimpliSafe.com DailyBeast because really there's no safe like Simplisafe.

[Hugh Docherty]

And we are back talking about Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump and a defence department in crisis.

Now we've heard from a very powerful civilian about what the military think. Delighted to say we are now joined by someone who knows exactly what it takes to be at the top of the military. Major General Paul Eaton is one of our country's most distinguished soldiers. He is now speaking out in a way his comrades who are still serving cannot. General, thank you for joining us.

There's so much that we could talk about, but I wanted to talk first about somebody that you have been very critical of.

The Defence Secretary or the self staff filed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. He has had an extraordinary week and I know that you're somebody that has raised warnings about him before this week he's been, you know, found to be usinghe used his signal account to pass on what he said were not secrets, but clearly were the secrets of war plans. And he was also involved in the aftermath of this strike in a boat from Venezuela in the Caribbean. Just tell us what was your view of Pete Hegseth's performance this week?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

If I were rating Mr. Hegseth as a superior officer, he would be out of a job. He has consistently demonstrated that he does not have the gravitas, he does not have the experience, he does not have the mindset, he does not have the ethical base to to perform the duties expected of the Secretary of Defense. And he is demonstrating this on a daily basis. You bring up signal gate. He my father was a Fighter pilot, fought in Vietnam. And the level of detail that Mr. Hicks has put out in a public space would have given gunners in Vietnam plenty of opportunity to prepare the worst they could deliver to.

Men like my dad. And so that is just a fundamental failure to understand the seriousness of the job. The fact that he would declare murder on the high seas and issue instructions that have been taken down. I mean, we're going to see everything in the analysis because we've got the Republicans on board right now to, to get to the bottom of the so called double tap that he invoked back in September, I guess, I gather.

[Hugh Docherty]

Do you think he, Pete Hegseth, is the person that's ultimately responsible here, or do you think this goes up to Trump?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

I don't know. What I do know is that Mr. Hegseth has issued instructions that.

Leave no doubt in the mind of the recipients and those who heard them that, that it's either an authorization for murder or a war crime. And whether it goes to, to Mr. Trump, you might make the point that from an emotional perspective and setting the emotional and ethical groundwork.

He is the senior man in our government and he has set the tone for everybody who reports to him. And he has set an unethical tone, he has set an immoral tone, he has set a lawless tone to those in his employ. And that is more of an emotional nature associated with the behaviors that we see from Mr. Eggseth.

[Hugh Docherty]

Clearly, as commander in chief, we know that Donald Trump has some degree of immunity, but you've warned yourself.

That there can be consequences for those who do not have immunity. And one of those people is Hegseth. I'm just wondering, tell me, take me, take us inside the kind of the military mind here. What does somebody who wears the uniform, when they are presented with this sort of order, what goes through their mind?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

If it smells bad, don't do it. If it smells bad, go to your lawyer. And to be clear, lawyers give advice, they do not give directive. And lawyers, if they smell something bad, they have recourse to go to the legal chain of command above them. And that brings a greater understanding into the whole mix. And if, if necessary, advice from high. And what we've got right now is a.

A chain of command that is looking over its shoulder. And I think the Wall Street Journal published it's a very lonely place to be in an American foxhole right now because you definitely don't have the backing of the civilian leadership.

[Hugh Docherty]

How do you process that? Just again, to take us inside that mindset, had you ever Been in a scenario where you felt that you had been presented with an illegal order? Or is this so outside the norm of the military experience that these are. The generals and admirals are dealing with really unprecedented situations?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

It is unprecedented operational experience. From my perspective, Bosnia, Somalia, Iraq.

I was blessed with terrific military leadership and civilian leadership. I was never asked to do anything untoward or even close to the line of illegality.

The, the men and women in those commands and subordinate to me left and right, had the clear backing of the chain of command and understand the higher commanders retain authority and responsibility for everything that happens or fails to happen in the operations in their area of operations. So I, I see what's going on right now as unprecedented and I believe that our uniform military is in a very tough position. And I will be very interested to hear what Admiral Halsey, the former SOUTHCOM commander whose retirement will take effect within days, I'll be very interested to hear him provide advice or observations on what's going on right now and observations around his early retirement and how he interacted with outside agents, either lettered agencies or our Special Operations Command. Because the SOUTHCOM commander has an area of operations. He commands and is responsible for everything that happens or fails to happen in that AO area of operations. Outside actors coming in are operating in his AOR area of responsibility and they are executing missions in a different command line. All of which makes the four star admiral in command of southcom's life more difficult. And, and I would love to see some analysis and observations from a great retired Admiral Halsey.

[Hugh Docherty]

One thing that has stood out in this is that this strike, the first strike of the. Well, I was going to say the first strike, but the fact, the first and second strikes of this campaign, for want of a better word, we now know we're run by SEAL Team 6 and through Special Operations CAP Command. Did that strike you as kind of off or odd? It seems to the outside observer, you might say that seems like not quite what we all understood SEAL Team six was about.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

Well, it's, to me, the, the issue is.

Somebody operating in my aor. Now, if you are the SOUTHCOM commander, what are the command links between the SOUTHCOM commander and the socom, the Special Operations Command?

How, where are the coordinating points between those two four star commands? One owns the aor, one is operating in the AOR separate from the chain of command of South Carolina.

This is not a new dilemma. We had this. You, you may recall Black Hawk down, of course, that incident.

The, the fact that Special Operation, Special Operations.

Command was operating in an AOR that belonged to conventional army. And.

What were the coordinating points as far as supporting fires or supporting activities or if necessary, exfiltration, facilitation? All of that seemed to indicate that all was not particularly clear to the commanding general of the AOR Mogadishu. And this is, this is not a new problem. And it's not because we're trying to make mistakes. It's just you can go after the fog of war. It's just complicated. And I don't know what those arrangements were between SOUTHCOM and SOCOM and what's going on killing boats in the Caribbean.

[Hugh Docherty]

Do you think it's, it's a legitimate use of, of, of, of the United States forces? That's, that's the starting point here?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

No, no, absolutely not. I live in Key West. We have a robust Coast Guard.

Operation going on here. And very recently you saw on the news that one of our cutters stopped a, a ship or a boat and recovered some $300 million worth of Coast K. And our guys in the Coast Guard are very well trained in boat operations at sea. How to stop, how to present, how to board. And they know how to operate within US law which is applicable in international waters. And when the Coast Guard shows up, they show up with a full force of American legal systems and they do it without any problems. They don't go in killing people. They go in and if necessary they arrest people. And in the case of this recent activity, I believe that after questioning the crew in question, they delivered them back to, I believe Ecuador. I believe that was their, their homeland land after recovering the contraband. So America knows how to do this. This is the purview of the Coast Guard. If the Coast Guard is overwhelmed by activity level, let's give them some more tax dollars so that they can expand their operation. This is not what I want the American Navy to do. We can do it, but they are not manned, trained and equipped to do it.

In concert with U.S. law in international waters.

[Hugh Docherty]

I presume you hear obviously from, you know, your friends, from people that you served with that are still in uniform. What's the mood inside the military about this?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

What we've got going on right now is whack a mole going on in the Caribbean. And the people I hear from are looking for a traditional explanation of what is my task and what do you expect me to deliver on that task. And that's not happening. What we are getting is looking for high speed boats and killing high speed boats without an explanation of are they just, just fishermen from Venezuela who have been threatened either harm to family or harm to themselves. Have they been forcibly employed to move cargo? Which again, the southcom chain of command has failed to make the case to the American public that what we are doing in Venezuela and north of Venezuela in the international waters is a valid task for U.S. armed forces.

[Hugh Docherty]

What advice do you give to people in that situation? If Pete Hegseth and his civilian command can't define a mission, does it then fall to the military to work it out? Or do they have, you know, do they have any ability to do that themselves?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

So when you are given instructions or intent from a higher commander before you leave the room, you've got to have crystal clarity in what it is that you were told to do. If you leave the room, you have failed in your job, failed in your duty to your peers and subordinates and what the US Military has to do do. And I again invoke the name of Admiral Halsey, who appeared to be uncomfortable to the point where he dropped his retirement papers.

Retirement or resignation are options when you are presented with inappropriate or illegal.

[Hugh Docherty]

Do you feel that's going to happen more? It's almost the perfect moral dilemma for somebody who's held a rank like yours that they have risen to that level because they are crystal clear in their own command structure and are then presented with.

An impossible situation.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

I empathize with the men and women in leadership positions in our armed forces because I have never seen a more fraught nature of civilian military relations in my life.

I was.

18 years old in 1968 when the Tet Offensive occurred. And when Walter Cronkite effectively.

Ended the war. It took years to truly end it. But we asked the men and women in our armed forces during the Vietnam War to do the impossible. The mission was vague.

The rules of engagement kept changing, and we were operating with a.

Forced service, a conscription environment, and young men and women were forced into a situation that was extremely difficult.

We are embarking upon. We have embarked upon a very difficult situation for our armed forces. And only our Congress, our first branch, only our Congress can help the men and women of the armed forces. And every American citizen can join in on that help by contacting their representative and their two senators and ask the question, what the hell is going on in the Pentagon civilian leadership? That's the question.

[Hugh Docherty]

And now a word from our sponsors.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Take control of the numbers and supercharge your small business with Xero, that's X E R O.

With our easy to use accounting software with automation and reporting features, you'll Spend less time on manual tasks and more time understanding how your business is doing. Doing 87% of surveyed US customers agree Xero helps improve financial visibility. Search Xero with an x or visit xero.comacast to start your 30 day free trial. Conditions apply.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

Hey, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile.

[Hugh Docherty]

You know one of the perks about.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

Having four kids that you know about is actually getting a direct line to.

[Hugh Docherty]

The big man up north.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

And this year he wants you to know the best gift that you can give someone is the free gift of Mint Mobile's Unlimited Wireless for 15amonth.

[Hugh Docherty]

Now you don't even need to wrap it.

[Commercial Narrator]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Of $45 for three month plan equivalent to 15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes if network's busy. Taxes and fees extra.

[Commercial Narrator]

C mintmobile.com Most people overpay for car insurance not because they're careless, but because switching feels like too much hassle. That's why there's Jerry. Jerry, your proactive insurance assistant. Jerry compares rates side by side from over 50 top insurers and helps you switch with ease. Jerry even tracks market rates and alerts you when it's best to shop. No spam calls, no hidden fees. Drivers who save with Jerry could save over $1,300 a year. Switch with confidence. Download the Jerry app or visit Jerry AI Acast Today, AI agents are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mist. Just one rogue agent can do big damage before you even notice. Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails and rewind mistakes so you can unleash agents, not risk. Accelerate your AI [e-mail] that's R U B R-I K.com.

[Hugh Docherty]

And we are back talking about national security in a time of deep, deep trouble. We saw some oversight in the last few days from the Inspector General on the Signalgate report and it painted a picture which I think anybody would agree was pretty damning that the Secretary of Defense or self styled Secretary of War, the Secretary of Defense was basically cutting and pasting secrets and putting them in an unsecured format and there seemed to be there was a defense on offer of well, I just get to declassify things in that sort of environment.

How effective even is Congress to deal with that contempt essentially for the checks and balances that are already in place? And I should say I know that you've tweeted about the ultimate point that there is the possibility of action after Hegseth has left office on accountability.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

Indeed. And. And the real power that Congress holds is the power of the purse. And it requires a concerted effort to require the.

Military leadership, civilian and uniform, to report for interrogation in Congress.

Interrogations, the harsh word, but that's what it is. And then it is a real threat to withhold monies for operation. And it is a. That they have the power of the purse. That denial is. Is a very difficult step for anybody to make with the armed forces deployed at risk. Risk. But our system is not working right now, and.

We don't have Richard Nixon to ultimately say, well, I will retire, I will resign from the, from the presidency. We're not getting that behavior from the world of maga, and I don't expect it to show up. But the nature of.

A requirement to come in and brief Congress. And two of the most unhappy men I've seen lately were Admiral Bradley and General Kane walking into a congressional office to undergo what they knew was going to be a series of most unpleasant questions.

But to your, to your question, it's not going to be an immediate fix to what is developing into a very big problem for our own forces.

[Hugh Docherty]

And that problem might develop further if there's an escalation. We keep hearing aggressive language from the president about Venezuela, about land action there. You obviously were involved in something, you know, not dissimilar in terms of going into Somalia and you trained troops in Iraq. What advice would you offer on going into Venezuela?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

Careful as you go. Wars are easy to start. They take on a nature of their own very quickly. The men and women who are going to be at risk in all this deserve better than what they're getting right now.

[Hugh Docherty]

How dangerous do you feel it is.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

For the military at the moment from a civil military? Danger extraordinary. When you start looking left and right and you don't trust the fellow left or right because of informal links with the civilian leadership, are you going to be.

Cast as. As a failure to honor the MAGA chain of command? Are you going to be cast as an apostate in a. In a world that is essentially a cult that Mr. Trump has established? That's a great danger. The danger at the tactical level is no fellow ever went into a deliberate attack with 100% intelligence pictures, nature of the objective. So it is. What don't we know about, what it is we've been asked to do as far as capacity to.

Execute the mission and get back home safe and and.

[Hugh Docherty]

We'Ve also obviously had the President talking in that speech to the entire General and general, I was going to say the general Staff, but in fact to every general and Admiral, he talked about using American cities as training grounds. That's obviously something that people have viscerally reacted to. But in that context of the MAGA chain of command, what can you do if you are ordering into that sort of situation?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

I would like to shout out to every man and woman in that auditorium their behavior, their silent hands on their knees, stoicism in the face of two unruly, disrespectful civilian leaders.

Hats off to them. As for what they can do, they have an oath to the Constitution and they have an obligation to every man and woman in their command to do everything that they can to ensure that their men and women in their command are taken care of, that they are safe and that they're sound and that they will not get stupid orders. And if it means to do what the distinguished Admiral Halsey did, where he said, I am not willing to do your bidding, I am retiring. This magnificent man.

Owes America a little bit more information about what happened and what drove him to what he did.

[Hugh Docherty]

You're obviously confident that he is going to provide that information.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

I believe that a man with his experience.

With the full faith that America placed in him by promoting him to four star admiral, that he will do the right thing. Thing.

[Hugh Docherty]

General, we would all hope that people would do the right thing as you have done. We want to thank you for, thank you for joining us. Thank you for your service. Thank you for offering such an extraordinary insight into how the military deals with this incredibly unprecedented situation. And I just wanted to finish by asking, can you perhaps offer us some hope that.

That we are not going to see things get worse?

[Major General Paul Eaton]

I have great faith in the men and women in the United States military. I have watched distinguished civilian leadership. I expect that we will be back there soon enough. And to borrow from a movie, the time for flattering yourself, Emperor will soon come to an end.

[Hugh Docherty]

Well, I hope you can come back to discuss it with us when it does. General, thank you so much for joining us and we look forward to hearing from you again in the future.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

I'm flattered to be included. Be well. Thank you sir.

[Hugh Docherty]

Well, that has been quite a conversation with both Central Slotkin and General Eton. Can Leaky Pete survive? Can the military survive the MAGA chain of command? We are going to be covering this relentlessly on the Daily Beast. Go and subscribe at www.thedailybeast.com to keep up with what's happening and of course to keep up what's happening with the Commander in Chief's health. Something that there's a lot of questions over that we are going to be talking about later. And as Joanna rightly always says, in the words of the first lady, please be I want to say thank you to our YouTube members for their support and especially our Beast Tier members. They are Sandra Clark, methinks Travels With Carol, Andrew Beaver, Capinator Harry Clark, Don McCarthy, Daniel dog lover M. Griner, Fulvia Orlando Herbie, Andrew Mellor, Laz Conde, Bonzo Val Love, Francisco, Andrea Houdel Bocock D.C. sharon Shipley, Connie Rutherford, Karen White and Heidi Riley. Thank you to our team, Devin Rogerino, Anna Von Osen and Jesse Millwood. Thank you for joining us.

[Commercial Narrator]

AI agents are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mistakes. Just one rogue agent can do big damage before you even notice. Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails and rewind mistakes so you can unleash agents, not risk. Accelerate your AI [e-mail] that's R U B R I K.com this episode is brought to you by Addio the AI native CRM Addio is built to scale with your business from day one. Setup is instant and in seconds of syncing your email and calendar, you'll see all your relationships in one place, fully enriched with actionable insights. With Addio, AI isn't just a feature, it's the foundation. You can do things like instantly prospect and route leads with research agents, get real time insights from AI during customer conversations, and build powerful AI automations for your most complex workflows. Industry leaders like TaskRabbit, Granola and Flat File are already experiencing what's next for CRM? Start now at addio.com pod and get 15% off your first year year. That's a T T I O.com pod.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Hannah Burner are those the cozy Tommy John pajamas you're buying? Paige desorbo they are Tommy John. And yes, I'm stocking up because they make the best holiday gifts. So generous. Well, I'm a generous girly, especially when.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

It comes to me.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

So I'm grabbing the softest sleepwear, comfiest underwear and best fitting loungewear. So nothing for your best? Of course I'm getting my dad Tommy John. Oh, and you of course it's giving holiday gifting made easy. Exactly. Cozy, Comfy, everyone's happy gift. Everyone on your list, including yourself with Tommy John and get 30% off site wide right now at tommyjohn.comfort Parlo tu.

[Commercial Narrator]

Francais hablas espanol par if you've used.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

Babel you words, Babbel's conversation based technique.

[Hugh Docherty]

Teaches you useful words and phrases to.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

Get you speaking quickly about the things.

[Hugh Docherty]

You actually talk about in the real world.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers.

[Hugh Docherty]

Babbel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babbel today.

[Major General Paul Eaton]

Get up to 55% off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com acars spelled B A B-B-E-L.com acast rules and restrictions may apply.

[Commercial Narrator]

Want more great listens? Check out our comedy podcast the Last Laugh and our Star Studded the Daily Beast [e-mail] podcasts if you enjoyed this.

[Senator Elissa Slotkin]

Episode, consider becoming a Daily Beast subscriber. Subscribing is the best way to feed the beast and support support all of your podcasts as we cover what might become the darkest timeline. Head to thedailybeast.com membership podcast and sign up today.