On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen, who served as an adviser to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, reacted to President Trump’s earlier statement about using the military to secure the border by stating the move, “suggests that the president increasingly sees the military as a playtoy that he can make political points with.”

Gergen said, “[T]he most disturbing part of the news to me today was this notion that he’s — he wants to now send troops to the border. You know, it’s true that two past presidents have deployed the National Guard to the border. That was because there were pressing needs. There’s no pressing need here. This is more of a political move, and it suggests that the president increasingly sees the military as a playtoy that he can make political points with. First, he wants to have this big massive parade, which most people in the military look at and say, ‘Oh, why are we really doing this?’ … You know, he wanted to take money out of the military budget and pay for the wall. And now, he wants to send troops to the border. There’s no real reason why we need to send troops to the border, other than to make [a] political point and to satisfy the people who are talking to him from Fox this past weekend, saying, ‘Your supporters are getting impatient, Mr. President. They want to see action on the wall.'”

(h/t Mediaite)

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