{"id":11973,"date":"2025-07-21T10:50:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T02:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11973"},"modified":"2025-07-21T10:50:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T02:50:26","slug":"trump-administration-turns-hostile-on-aspen-security-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11973","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration turns hostile on Aspen Security Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Trump administration\u2019s last-minute snub of the Aspen Security Forum this week betrays a growing animosity between the U.S. government and wider national security community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon on Monday pulled senior Defense Department officials from the annual event \u2014only a day before the start of the four-day summit in Colorado \u2014 claiming the bipartisan gathering \u201cpromotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the President of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strong wording has alarmed some experts and former government officials, who see a growing tendency for the administration to cut off anyone who criticizes or so much as offers an alternative view to that of the current U.S. government \u2014 putting up a barrier between them and the decisionmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Trump administration doesn\u2019t like dissent, I think that\u2019s pretty clear. And they don\u2019t like dissenting views at conferences,\u201d a Republican political strategist and frequent forum attendee told The Hill. \u201cCausing a stir about perceived criticism of the Trump administration makes people afraid to cross them and lose access to the administration. They might be cut off from people who are implementing policies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the shunning of events on the national security and foreign policy circuit does no favors for the administration\u2019s national security goals, experts say, as they lend a platform to potentially different viewpoints that could be useful for Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Case in point, those gathered at the mountain retreat were described as \u201cbewildered\u201d by the decision on account of the forum\u2019s well-known bipartisan agenda, with several former Trump administration officials slated to speak, according to the political strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a surprise because most of us were traveling to the conference when the announcement occurred,\u201d the strategist said. \u201cI think most people who attend the event frequently never viewed it as being partisan or anti-Trump. So it was bewildering and I think a little bit concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aspen Security Forum, described as the \u201cpremier national security and foreign policy conference,\u201d is among the most high-profile of such events and for years has attracted Republican and Democratic administration officials, business leaders and analysts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During President Trump\u2019s first term, several top officials including then-CIA chief and later Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended the forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s lineup included Mark Esper, an acting Defense secretary in Trump\u2019s first term; Condoleezza Rice, a former national security adviser and secretary of State under former President George W. Bush; and David Petraeus, a CIA director under former President Obama. Speakers covered a range of issues that included the U.S. strategy on Taiwan, Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, NATO, and how Trump\u2019s tariffs will affect Washington\u2019s alliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a dozen administration officials were set to appear on several panels, including Navy Secretary John Phelan. But the Pentagon suddenly declared they would not attend and would not do so moving forward as \u201ctheir values do not align with the values of the DoD,\u201d according to department spokesperson Sean Parnell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only one administration official ended up attending the conference, and they were not associated with the Pentagon: Adam Boehler, Trump\u2019s special envoy for hostage release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even without the defense officials in attendance, panelists praised a number of Trump\u2019s recent moves, including his decision to offer lethal aid for Ukraine, the U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and his prompting of NATO countries to foot more of the bill when it comes to defense spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National security elites also appeared resigned to the reality that the norms and conventions that sprang up following World War II \u2014 which have dictated U.S. use of military force and how Washington addresses long-held partners and alliances \u2014 have been upended thanks to Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to recognize that we\u2019re probably not going back to exactly that system,\u201d Rice, a co-chair of the Aspen Strategy Group, said at the closing panel of the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael O\u2019Hanlon, a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution think tank, said he wasn\u2019t doing any hand-wringing over Trump\u2019s eleventh-hour snub, and that he viewed the officials\u2019 pulling out as just the new norm for at least the next three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they want to have a little bit of a culture war over this particular forum, I\u2019m just going to view it as a reminder of how they view the world, as opposed to a major problem,\u201d O\u2019Hanlon said, referring to the administration\u2019s isolationist tendencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll be willing to just hold a grudge if they decide you\u2019ve slighted them or you\u2019re not of their worldview. And that\u2019s just the way it\u2019s going to be,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Hanlon noted that as long as administration officials appear at some similar forums and are willing to engage, he doesn\u2019t see an issue. But should they stop attending any such events moving forward, that would be a cause for concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they just occasionally feel a slight from somebody and pull out of this or that, that\u2019s one thing. If they stop being willing to engage in any kind of forum, unless you somehow prove that you\u2019re a complete MAGA Republican, that would be much more concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aspen organizers, meanwhile, have made clear their invitation to the Trump officials remains open. The political strategist said the organizers were more concerned about ensuring that there\u2019s a presence of government officials going forward at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a major security forum, it\u2019s an open exchange of ideas, and they made it very clear throughout the event that the officials are invited back anytime in the future,\u201d the strategist said. \u201cI think there\u2019s a hope that that they will come back next year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration\u2019s last-minute snub of the Aspen Security Forum this week betrays a growing animosity between the U.S. government and wider national security community. The Pentagon on Monday pulled senior Defense Department officials from the annual event \u2014only a day before the start of the four-day summit in Colorado \u2014 claiming the bipartisan gathering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":11974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2258,1830,1724],"class_list":["post-11973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-administration","tag-security","tag-trump"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump administration turns hostile on Aspen Security Forum - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=11973\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump administration turns hostile on Aspen Security Forum - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Trump administration\u2019s last-minute snub of the Aspen Security Forum this week betrays a growing animosity between the U.S. government and wider national security community. 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