Ahead of President Donald Trump’s rally-style appearance at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Army officials raised alarms over a vendor planning to sell Trump-branded merchandise on site.
They feared selling the merchandise could undermine the military’s carefully maintained image of political neutrality, according to two officials familiar with the internal pushback. But on Tuesday, the vendor, 365 Campaign, was on the Army base anyway, and soldiers purchased clothing and items like “Make America Great Again” chain necklaces and faux credit cards labeled “White Privilege Card: Trumps Everything.”
Trump’s openly partisan speech and the spectacle of uniformed soldiers in the crowd cheering his attacks on elected officials sparked widespread public concern. But the vendor quickly raised red flags among Army officials, who viewed the overtly partisan storefront operating on military property as a breach of long-held norms designed to shield the service from political entanglement.
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In some cases, troops were seen wearing the Trump political merchandise, including MAGA neck chains, in uniform.
While service members retain the right to hold and express political beliefs, military regulations draw a hard line when it comes to political expression while in uniform or on duty. However, no service members are expected to be admonished in any way, with multiple Army officials explaining to Military.com that, despite rules very likely being broken, holding troops to account when goaded by the president, who is ultimately the boss, would be impossible.
“We’re going to use this as a teaching tool to make sure soldiers better understand their position in their uniform to be apolitical,” one service official told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation.
Trump’s event — ostensibly an opportunity to celebrate the Army’s birthday — was organized under the banner of America250, the congressionally chartered commission tasked with planning celebrations for the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026. That same commission is also behind Saturday’s glitzy Army parade in Washington, D.C., which coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday.
The blueprint for Trump’s rally-style appearance at Fort Bragg, the Army’s marquee base for ground combat and home to the famed 82nd Airborne Division and other key formations, began taking shape about a month ago. Tucked into those preparations was a pop-up vendor from 365 Campaign, the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based retailer known for hawking Trump-centric gear and conservative-themed merchandise.
And the Army’s internal objections were ultimately brushed aside. The vendor appeared at the event put on by America250, to the shock of Army officials on the ground.
At the helm of America250 is Executive Director Ari Abergel, a former deputy communications director for Melania Trump and a producer for Fox & Friends, a flagship morning news talk show on Fox News. The commission tapped Event Strategies Inc., a political event firm with deep Trump-world ties, to handle logistics for both the Fort Bragg appearance and the upcoming Army parade.
Event Strategies, which has orchestrated many of Trump’s rallies, was also listed on permits tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, protests in Washington, D.C. Its president, Tim Unes, a veteran of Trump’s 2016 campaign, was previously removed from the planning team for former Sen. Bob Dole’s funeral due to concerns over his involvement in the rally that preceded the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection.
Event Strategies and America250 could not be reached for comment ahead of publication.
In addition to the merchandise, Trump’s bombastic rally-style speech before a backdrop of soldiers was laced with political invective.
The assembled Fort Bragg soldiers — in uniform and from various units — cheered as Trump launched attacks on former President Joe Biden, California elected officials and the media.
The troops applauded, laughed and booed as Trump attacked his perceived political opponents in a rare and striking public display of overt political partisanship within the ranks.
Presidents frequently use troops as backdrops for speeches, but those speeches often skate around overt politics and troops typically offer gestures of polite applause and laughs for nonpartisan jokes.
“The nation demands [an] apolitical, nonpartisan military,” Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers when asked about Military.com’s earlier reporting on the pop-up shop.