Steve DeaceVerifizierter Account

Hayden is a decorated general, a true patriot, and a man with a resume that deserves praise and honor. I think it's important to note that up front. Especially in light of what I'm going to say next.

At the end of the podcast, Matt asks Hayden which spy shows he finds realistic. The first one he references is "Homeland." I have seen every episode.

Hayden tells Matt one of the things "Homeland" accurately captures is how intelligence operatives can become so focused on the mission they lose sight of the larger country they're serving.

With all due respect to the general, whose service I again thank him for, I think he's guilty of that very same thing after listening to this conversation.

Hayden's chief criticism of Trump, whom I did not vote for and depending on when you ask me I have dramatically different views of his presidency (right now I'm pretty positive), is that he violates what the general calls "norms."

Hayden makes it clear Trump is not doing things illegal or unconstitutional, but he's making the system nervous by violating the "norms of the office." Again, with all due respect, I think this is where the general has lost touch with the rest of the country.

About 17% of the rest of the country thought we were heading in the right direction in the Obama years. And a majority of people thought the American dream had died. So most Americans aren't that interested in maintaining the "norms of the office."

The "norms of the office" gave us the largest welfare state in human history. Made us the worst debtor nation in human history. Imported 20 million illegals, and exported endless Middle East wars fighting for cultures and religious sects who hate us.

Thus, outside of the system Hayden admits in the podcast he's spent much of his adult life, in a place where I live like Iowa the "norms of the office" isn't a compelling argument against Trump. It's actually an argument FOR him.

That's not to say I agree with all of Trump's incendiary comments. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. And I make plain when that's the case either way. But Hayden himself said in the podcast presidents are "the result" of where we are.

In the case of Trump, I'm not sure the likes of General Hayden, a truly great man, understand how we got the result of Trump. How frustrated people are with a government that doesn't listen to them, or seem to care what they think.

A government that has forsaken the rule of law and the Constitution for intersectionality, political correctness, and subsidized victimology. Hayden does not give you the sense in this podcast he gets that.

Now, to his credit, Hayden does criticize institutions denying Congressional inquiries while leaking sensitive information to the press instead. And correctly notes these institutions condemning Trump for violating cherished norms are violating the norms themselves.

So I think the general should be commended. He's not a political hack. He believes the system he's served has served the country well overall, and he doesn't appreciate it when folks on the Right or Left violate those norms. He's morally consistent, and I applaud that.

However, I think it would benefit the general to spend less time watching or appearing on cable news. Visit the rest of the country he's dedicated his life serving. Come to a place like the Machine Shed Restaurant in Iowa. Get beyond the Mission Creep, and listen to the people.

For all of his faults, which are documented, aside from the good fortune of running against Hillary, Trump's greatest asset is he listens to everyday people the system has left behind, ignored, or taken for granted. By voting for Trump, those people are sending a message.

And after listening to this podcast, and I mean this with all due respect I really do, it's a message I'm not sure great patriots like General Hayden have received. The people want this to about THEM, not the norms, the system, or anything else.