Military's independent newspaper captured by MAGA

Salon·May 3

Military's independent newspaper captured by MAGA

commentary Stars and Stripes is the latest casualty in the Trump administration's Pentagon purge Senior Writer Published May 3, 2026 6:30AM (EDT) Marines in Iraq receive copies of Stars and Stripes in 2003 (DAVID K. DISMUKES/US NAVY/AFP via Getty Images) Donald Trump is escalating his MAGA takeover of the United States military. One of the great strengths of American democracy is that the country’s military is nonpartisan, a trait that ensures officers and service members alike obey the Constitution and serve civilian authority. The president rejects this foundational principle. In his mind, America’s military belongs to him, a view taken right out of the authoritarian playbook. After a spate of firings due to infighting ranging from building Navy ships to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s apparent refusal to promote officers of color and women, along with the purging of the Pentagon’s so-called diversity hires, Trump’s politicization of the armed forces now includes the takeover of Stars and Stripes, the military’s congressionally-authorized independent newspaper. First published 160 years ago during the Civil War, it has been in continuous publication since World War II, with its editorial independence guaranteed by Congress. The act is a preview and warning of far worse things to