I suspect he admires them until he has to work with them. It's hard to explain but the military teaches you think a certain way - you come up with a logical and coordinated and detailed plan, you execute and then you adjust. My observation is that most people don't operate that way, particularly in elected office - they are usually not detail people, they usually are content to throw an idea out there and see what sticks and there is no adjustments. They want to do "something" and want to leave the planning to someone else. The military is unique and most of the government does not work that way. You should see the wonderful reviews that a Defense person who goes to the State Department gets. Diplomats are the original "lets build a snowman in the desert and see if it melts" people. They have no idea how to plan and execute and are undisciplined thinkers.
The problem that Trump has with the military is that they are not who he thinks they are. He thinks they are soldiers of fortune and love to go off on a whim to do his bidding, but nothing could be further from the truth. He frustrates them as much as they frustrate him.
Trump has a lot of good qualities in that he is brave enough to take on issues no one else wants to touch, but he will do it in his way and he doesn't really care what other people think. That's why people either love him or hate him.
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