
In an address before all of America’s senior military officials, at an emergency meeting convened by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump declared that the United States faces «a war from within.»
Breaking News: President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military should use U.S. cities as “training grounds” at an unusual meeting focused on culture wars. It was unclear why they needed to gather senior military leaders from overseas to tell them this face to face.
— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2025-09-30T14:52:14.741097Z
«This is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room.»
They don’t wear uniforms

The president argued it would be «no different than a foreign enemy,» but emphasized the challenge, noting that the targets «don’t wear uniforms,» which makes the task «more difficult in many ways.»
«We are under invasion from within … no different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways because they don’t wear uniforms,» Trump declared in his speech before the nation’s generals, who sat in unusual silence.

Upon taking the stage, Trump even remarked on the atmosphere, saying: «I never walked into a room so silent before», a striking contrast for a president more accustomed to being greeted with chants and cheers from his fervent MAGA supporters.
«We should use some of the dangerous cities as training grounds.»
Very unsafe places
«The ones that are run by the radical left Democrats … what they’ve done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they’re very unsafe places.»

The president then warned his audience that restoring order in these cities would fall to the military, declaring: «And we’re going to straighten them out one by one. And this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room.»
Trump added that the armed forces should be directly involved in tackling unrest at home, saying: «We should use some of the dangerous cities as training grounds» for the military.
«If you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room. But, there goes your rank and there goes your future.»

A Stern Warning on Dissent
During his address to America’s top military leaders, President Trump struck a combative tone while outlining his vision of the armed forces playing a greater role in domestic security. After declaring that the country faced «a war from within» and urging generals and admirals to treat internal threats like foreign enemies, Trump warned the assembled officers about dissent.

«If you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room. But, there goes your rank and there goes your future,» he said, according to People