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Gen. Honoré: “To Die Free Is an Obligation” — Trump, Hegseth, and Domestic Deployments

How Militarizing Politics Puts Democracy—and the Troops—at Risk

Watch now | In Episode 4 of On Offense, I sit down with Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré to talk about political violence, military extremism, and how to push back before it’s too late.

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Lieutenant General Russel Honoré doesn’t talk like most generals—and in this conversation, he doesn’t mince words about politicians who glorify war but avoid accountability, or veterans who use their military service as a shield while undermining democracy. That’s exactly why I wanted to have him on On Offense.

Honoré knows what it means to lead troops under pressure. He’s the kind of leader who called out systemic failures in real time after Hurricane Katrina—and he hasn’t stopped holding power accountable since.

In this episode, we talk about what happens when the military becomes a political pawn—and why the deployments of troops onto American streets reminds him of America’s darkest moments of the 20th century.

And we talk about how real service doesn’t end with the uniform—unless you trade your values for a comfortable seat and fat check.

Here are some of the stakes we dig into:

  • The threats facing troops and veterans from extremists and disinformation

  • What it means to be “combat ineffective” in a democracy under attack

  • How to take care of our people without feeding a culture of violence

  • What accountability looks like in the age of Trump and Hegseth

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