Trump tells CPAC military is only 'woke' at the top, takes a shot at Gen. Mark Milley

Former President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military’s rank and file in his Saturday CPAC address, saying they suffer only from being "woke at the top” ranks while singling out the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley  

"We have the greatest soldiers in the world, but they're not allowed to do their job," Trump said. "I proved that with ISIS. Our soldiers knocked the hell out of ISIS once I took over and took it away from our fake television generals. We have great generals, but not the ones like Milley and these guys on television."

General Mark Milley was appointed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2018.

Trump told the crowd he had tough generals that he had to reign in because of how tough they are. 

"We have a great military," Trump stated. "It's only woke at the top. I don't think it can ever be 'wokenized' at the lower levels because these are great people and tough people. It's only at the top."

Conservative politicians have been sounding the alarm about leftist ideology infiltrating the military and its implications for national security.

Former Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said last year that he's concerned about the rise of "wokeness" in the military, stating they have degraded physical standards and have gone "woke in their teachings in the Pentagon and elsewhere."

"We have a great military," Trump repeated, and later called many of the members "handsome" and said they were better looking than actor Tom Cruise.