Donald Trump has spent essentially his entire life refusing to pay the people who work for him. Throughout his years in real estate, contractors realized angrily that he’d exploit even the tiniest loophole to avoid paying an invoice. Trump is open and honest about this, saying:
“Let’s say that they do a job that’s not good, or a job that they didn’t finish, or a job that was way late. I’ll deduct from their contract, absolutely.” And, of course, it’s Trump who decides that the job is “not good”.
Jack O’Connell, former Trump Plaza president, was candid about Trump’s historic refusal to pay people what they’re owed:
“How he did business as a philosophy was to negotiate the best price he could. And then when it came time to pay the bills, he’d say, ‘I’m going to pay you but I’m going to pay you 75% of what we agreed to.”
Now, incredibly, he’s doing the same to the National Guard troops he’s sending into Democrat-controlled cities. According to an article by Rawstory, Trump is currently taking advantage of a loophole that allows him to withhold crucial benefits.
If National Guard troops are deployed for more than 30 days, they must be paid the full Basic Allowance for Housing Type 1 benefit, worth roughly $2,500 per service member per month. To avoid this, Trump is cycling through repeated 29-day deployments, ending them on day 29 and restarting on day 31. This denies them the benefit, despite them being on a lengthy deployment that would otherwise entitle them to it..
White House put DC National Guard on 29-day orders… 1 day short of 30 needed for full housing and health benefits.
— WarMonitor (@TheWarMonitor) August 31, 2025
Stabbing his troops in the back
Former Republican turned Trump critic Adam Kinzinger, a veteran himself, is disgusted. He described this nickel-and-diming as “so Trump” and said that this is evidence of “an abusive commander in chief”:
So Trump put the national guard on 29 day orders?!
— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini)
Why does this matter: They don’t pay full housing allowance and no health insurance until 30 days.
What an abusive commander in chief. So Trump(@AdamKinzinger) August 31, 2025
Any historian worth their salt will be shaking their heads right now. The one thing any budding authoritarian needs to do is to make sure their soldiers remain loyal and happy. One of the main factors that led to the fall of Rome was various emperors not paying their legions, leading to widespread discontent.
Or, more recently, the 1917 Russian Revolution was successful because underpaid and demoralized troops mutinied and refused orders, with that rebellion leading to the collapse of the Tsarist regime and the rise of Communism.
Trump stiffing his troops on benefits might not cause anything as dramatic as that, but woe betide any leader who decides he’s going to save a few bucks by cheaping out on his foot soldiers.
