Will Donald Trump Tame the Military-Industrial Complex?

To the surprise of many Trump watchers, America’s former narcissist-in-chief offered a searing indictment of the military-industrial complex at a recent rally in Wisconsin:

“I will expel warmongers. We have these people, they want to go to war all the time. You know why? Missiles are $2 million apiece. That’s why. They love to drop missiles all over the place. I had no wars…. I will expel the warmonger from our national security state and carry out a much needed clean up of the military industrial complex to stop the war profiteering and to always put America first. We put America first. We’re going to end these endless wars. Endless wars, they never stop.”

His remarks made Trump look like a principled crusader for peace, poised to take on the special interests that have distorted our foreign policy and made war more likely. While there is very little chance he will act on his tough rhetoric, the fact that he described the arms makers and their allies in such harsh terms suggests that there is a populist, anti-interventionist faction within his political base.

How do we know that Trump’s takedown of the warmongers and war profiteers in Wisconsin is more a matter of political spin than a guide to future policy?