On This Day In 2021
US to China: No, Trump is not about to nuke you
He’s not quite that crazy: According to Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, Donald Trump “had gone into a serious mental decline in the aftermath of the (2020) election…all but manic, screaming at officials and constructing his own…reality.” Advisors were worried Trump could “go rogue.”
So OTDI 2021, two days after Trump's Insurrection, General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, felt compelled to call his Chinese counterpart to help stave off a nuclear war. Milley assured him that no matter how deranged our president might appear, the U.S. was not on the verge of attacking China.
Milley did what past Chiefs have done during crises: He spoke directly to his military equivalent to prevent errors that might lead to horrific outcomes. This was a crowning moment for the general whose career was filled with notable achievements, including helping to modernize the military and helping to detail the threats to our national security from climate change.
But MAGA was pissed: For his efforts, former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka recommended putting Gen. Milley in “shackles and leg irons.” Trump, as usual, went further, implying that “this Woke train wreck” deserved nothing short of a firing squad. “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!"
Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ)—the guy whose own siblings got together to campaign for his opponent—chimed in, denouncing Milley as a “traitor” who merited the death penalty.
But here’s the real problem: As Brian Klaas wrote in The Atlantic, Trump’s bloodthirsty outburst “shows just how numb the country has grown toward threats more typical of broken, authoritarian regimes. The United States is not just careening toward a significant risk of political violence around the 2024 presidential election. It’s also mostly oblivious to where it’s headed.”
@realBobWoodward and @costareports book "Peril" is a great place to get all the details, and you can get your copy of Peril here: https://amzn.to/48pTMAD
CNN cites them here: edition.cnn.com/2021/09/14/politics/woodward-book-trump-nuclear/index.html
@brianklaas' analysis of Trump’s execution comment is here: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/trump-milley-execution-incitement-violence/675435/
CNBC’s reporting on calls for Milley’s termination with extreme prejudice is at: www.cnbc.com/2023/09/25/trump-paul-gosar-suggest-gen-mark-milley-deserves-death.html
Milley reassures China