RiverDog wrote: Original text but leave it to Trump to send them whether or not they're needed simply to rally his base.
Apology not necessary, but nevertheless greatly appreciated, although I don't see how adding "to rally his base" would have changed the context of the phrase.
If you read that sentence like "Trump is doing this only to rally his base and he doesn't need the troops at all and no one has asked him to send them." it means one thing, if you read it like "Trump will probably send them when he doesn't really need them." it means a whole different thing.