London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

Navy SEAL who oversaw bin Laden raid defends the Postal Service and says Trump is undermining every major US institution

Navy SEAL who oversaw bin Laden raid defends the Postal Service and says Trump is undermining every major US institution

Retired US Navy Adm. William McRaven bashed President Donald Trump in an op-ed article in The Washington Post published Sunday, accusing him of undermining not only the US Postal Service but every major US institution.
"It is the theme of every autocrat who ever seized power or tried to hold onto it," he argued. McRaven, who had a distinguished military career as a Navy SEAL and oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, has become an outspoken critic of Trump.

Retired US Navy Adm. William McRaven, the Navy SEAL who oversaw the raid that eliminated the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, accused President Donald Trump of undermining not only the United States Postal Service but every major US institution.

"Today, as we struggle with social upheaval, soaring debt, record unemployment, a runaway pandemic, and rising threats from China and Russia, President Trump is actively working to undermine every major institution in this country," McRaven wrote in an op-ed article published in The Washington Post on Sunday.

McRaven argued that the president was planting "the seeds of doubt" in the minds of the American people about the efficacy of institutions and groups including the intelligence community, law-enforcement agencies, the media, the military, the courts, election officials, medical experts, and postal workers.

"If Americans stop believing in the system of institutions, then what is left but chaos and who can bring order out of chaos: only Trump," he wrote. "It is the theme of every autocrat who ever seized power or tried to hold onto it."

The US Postal Service has emerged as a focal point during the coronavirus pandemic and ahead of the presidential election. Trump has claimed, without evidence, that voting by mail will lead to extensive voter fraud and has suggested withholding funding from the Postal Service, sparking concerns that he is stoking fears about voting systems that have been free of widespread fraud.

"Our institutions are the foundation of a functioning democracy," McRaven wrote. "While they are not perfect, they are still the strongest bulwark against overzealous authority figures."

He added: "As Trump seeks to undermine the US Postal Service and stop mail-in voting, he is taking away our voice to decide who will lead America. It is not hyperbole to say that the future of the country could depend on those remarkable men and women who brave the elements to bring us our mail and deliver our vote."

McRaven has emerged as an unlikely and outspoken critic of the president. Last fall, the retired admiral wrote an op-ed article in The New York Times with the headline "Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President."

"If this president doesn't demonstrate the leadership that America needs, both domestically and abroad, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office," he wrote in that op-ed article.

McRaven, who has written bestselling books on leadership including "Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life ... and Maybe the World" and "Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations," served in the US military for 36 years before his retirement in 2014. He was the chancellor of the University of Texas system for three years.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×