President Donald Trump is facing an unprecedented revolt from the elite corps of ex-military leaders and presidents over his brazen response to mass protests and inflaming of racial divides.
What We Know:
- In a truly unexpected move on Wednesday evening, former Defense Secretary James Mattis, a warrior revered by his troops, told Americans they must come together without the President.
- “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try,” said Mattis, who has kept silent since resigning in 2018.
- “Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership,” said the retired Marine general in a statement, criticizing Trump for threatening to deploy regular troops to quell unrest in a flagrant threat to US political stability.
- Also on Wednesday evening, retired Gen. John Allen, the former commander of American forces in Afghanistan, took his own turn at attacking Trump’s response in a commentary published by Foreign Policy.
- “It wasn’t enough that peaceful protesters had just been deprived of their first-amendment rights—this photo-op sought to legitimize that abuse with a layer of religion,” wrote Allen.
- He was referring to the order given to federal security forces on Monday to clear protesters from Lafayette Square before the President emerged from the White House for the heavily criticized White House video in front of St. John’s Church while holding a bible.
- Allen winds up hoping this will all lead to a more enlightened America. But, he notes, “it will have to come from the bottom up. For at the White House, there is no one home.”
These blasts from Allen and Mattis have escalated a growing front against Trump by Washington elites outside the Republican Party. They also came after a barrage of still living ex-presidents including Jimmy Carter, George Bush and Barack Obama, who have stepped into a leadership void left by Trump in the current state of the nation.
