“The Department of Defense has strict rules about campaigning on military installations. A candidate may not campaign or hold election-related activities on a Department of Defense installation.”

New reporting from the News & Observer is highlighting how Michael Whatley “violat[ed] the guidance” of military officials by campaigning at Fort Bragg and “disrespect[ed] … the tradition of the military.”

This isn’t the first time Whatley has disrespected veterans and service members.

Whatley has backed funding cuts to health care for more than 300,000 veterans in North Carolina, praised the federal government’s leadership that “quietly delayed” the clean up of PFAS at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and is being bankrolled by a company that has been accused of “defrauding” and “preying on” veterans.

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News & Observer: President Trump flouts military tradition with partisan Fort Bragg speech

Danielle Battaglia | February 20, 2026

• President Donald Trump stepped on stage Friday afternoon at Pope Army Airfield at Fort Bragg and told a group of military personnel to vote Republican. 

• Then he turned his attention to former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and asked Whatley to join him on stage. 

• “He’s running for the Senate, and if he gets in, you’re going to be taken care of,” Trump said. “If he doesn’t get in, we’re going to be stripping the military, like they always do — the Democrats.” 

• Sen. Val Applewhite, a Democrat, retired from Pope Army Airfield after 20 years of service, and now represents the bases in the state legislature. As Applewhite spoke to McClatchy Wednesday afternoon about Trump’s speech, her voice cracked and she acknowledged that she had become overwhelmed. 

• “It was shocking to me when I heard the comments, and I immediately knew that this is not appropriate for any military installation,” Applewhite said. 

• The Department of Defense has strict rules about campaigning on military installations. A candidate may not campaign or hold election-related activities on a Department of Defense installation. 

• “The candidate who spoke about their campaign seemingly ignored the officials, likely violating the guidance,” Forsythe wrote. 

• Applewhite stressed the importance of the military remaining nonpartisan, saying that troops in the field are not worried about each others’ politics, but about maintaining their mission. 

• “To have the disrespect for the tradition of the military — in good order and discipline — we should all be angry about,” Applewhite said. “We would hope that the last organization that in this country that you would sow division in would be our military. Politics should not be part of that.” 

• Applewhite said Trump’s speech undermined the authority of Fort Bragg’s leaders. She said junior enlisted military personnel would have been looking to them, knowing this speech was wrong and knowing that no one was doing anything about it. 

• Trump wasn’t the only person campaigning from the podium at Fort Bragg. 

• When Whatley took the stage, he mostly talked about Trump’s record, but took a moment for himself. 

• Applewhite said she wishes Trump and Whatley addressed issues affecting U.S. military personnel, like jobs for spouses, health care and the economy. 

• “So it really was a travesty,” Applewhite said, “and I’m highly disappointed that we would use our military members as a backdrop to make political points.

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