Those who know Trump best
are now against him.
Some of the strongest criticisms of former President Donald J. Trump have come from those who knew him as commander in chief.
www.nytimes.com
Excerpted...
Many of those who served in former President Donald J. Trump’s administration — especially his generals, ambassadors and other national security officials — have since turned on Mr. Trump.
Former President Donald J. Trump often brags about hiring “the best people.” But the breadth of the criticism aimed at Mr. Trump, especially from his own former military and national security officials, sets him apart from any modern president.
John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who served as Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, recently
called his former boss “an authoritarian,” saying he “admires people who are dictators — he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”
Mark Milley, the country’s top military official during the last two years of Mr. Trump’s presidency, privately told the journalist Bob Woodward that Mr. Trump is a “fascist to the core” and said his pursuit of another four years in office makes him “the most dangerous person to this country,” Mr. Woodward revealed in a recent book.
Mr. Trump and those around him rejected the criticism as little more than sour grapes. The former president has called General Milley a “loser” and worse, and has
suggested that the decorated military officer should be executed for treason because of efforts to ease concerns among foreign leaders after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol by Mr. Trump’s supporters.
But the comments from Mr. Kelly and General Milley denigrating Mr. Trump’s capacity to serve as commander in chief are particularly striking, even as they echo the sentiments from others across his government and many Republicans outside of his administration.
Former generals, admirals, diplomats, intelligence officers and security strategists have publicly or privately accused Mr. Trump of being a liar who lacks basic knowledge about the world and represents a danger to democracy. Members of his cabinet have questioned his loyalty to the country and testified to his chaotic behavior. His press aides have talked about his lack of integrity and his tendency to attack others.
And Mike Pence, his own vice president, has accused him of being reckless and putting himself over the Constitution. And Mr. Pence said he walked away from the agenda backed by conservatives. Mr. Pence ran against Mr. Trump and refused to endorse him.