December 30, 2018: Two Generals Offer Negative Takes on the President of the United States

 

12/30/18: The folks who worked with Trump on The Apprentice aren’t the only ones to have formed a negative opinion of the man in the Oval Office. Retired four-star Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal was asked Sunday if he’d work for President Trump if asked. “No,” he responded pithily. 

General McChrystal, left, wife, Annie by his side.

 

“Someone we wouldn’t want to do a business deal with.” 

“Why not?” wondered Martha Raddatz, who was hosting the general for an appearance on ABC’s This Week. 

“I don’t think he tells the truth.” 

Did the general think Trump was “immoral,” Raddatz wondered? 

McChrystal explained: 

I think he is.

 

What I would ask every American to do is again, stand in front of that mirror and say, what are we about? Am I really willing to throw away or ignore some of the things that people do that are pretty unacceptable normally just because they accomplish certain other things that we might like? If we want to be governed by someone we wouldn’t do a business deal with because they’re their background is so shady, if we’re willing to do that then that’s in conflict with who I think we are.

 

And so I think it’s necessary in those times to take a stand.

 

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Keeping America safe – from the President of the United States.

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GENERAL JOHN KELLY, who steps down from his job as White House chief of staff, also leaves with, dare we say, less than glowing praise for Boss Trump. 

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times he describes taking over the White House job in July 2017. Trump was “frustrated” at the time. “It was a huge decision to make,” whether he even wanted the job, “and frankly there was no system at all for a lot of reasons – palace intrigue and the rest of it – when I got there.” 

As rocky as his time in the Trump administration turned out to be, the Times suggested his success would “best [be] measured by what the president did not do when Kelly was at his side.” That’s about as negative an assessment as you can offer if you’re going to leave it up to outsiders to read between the lines.

 

As the Times tells the tale, Kelly limited the damage Trump would have done if left on his own. “Kelly’s supporters say he stepped in to block or divert the president on dozens of matters large and small. They credit him, in part, for persuading Trump not to pull U.S. forces out of South Korea, or withdraw from NATO,” as the president said behind closed doors he wanted to do. 

So – as chaotic as it had often been – Kelly and his supporters were saying, “It could have been worse!” 

Kelly is no shrinking violet. He served with the Marines for 43 years, his career spanning the period from Vietnam to the rise and fall of the Islamic State. That made him the nation’s longest-serving general when he retired in 2016 and joined the administration. Yet, he describes working in the White House under this president as a “bone-crushing hard job, but you [had to] do it.”

 

Kelly was asked why he stayed so long as he did, despite policy differences, despite the president’s mercurial personality, despite Trump’s volatile outbursts, despite the sixteen-hour days, seven days a week. 

“Duty,” he said. “Military people don’t walk away.” 

And there he was – for almost a year-and-a-half, stuck in what he told friends was “the worst job in the world,” working for a man he thought was not up to the task of leading a great nation.

July 4, 2019: President Trump Gets His Parade - And Gets His History Wrong

 

7/4/19: The nation awaits the kickoff of the “Salute to America” extravaganza. There will fireworks – and tanks, like Tiananmen Square in 1989. 

Only with less running over of civilians.

 

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“The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown. Our Army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do.”  

Trump describing the work of George Washington and his army

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Who knew: Air power saved Washington in 1781!

 

Not everyone is thrilled with the concept of Trump and a whole bunch of GOP VIP’s and big GOP donors watching from front row seats – reserved just for them – as Trump uses what he has called “his military,” surrounded by “his generals,” with all kinds of warplanes flying overhead. It’s all really a backdrop to make himself look less like a buffoon than he actually is. 

Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, a retired four-star Marine general and former head of United States Central Command, has made it clear he’s concerned about the image this parade will send. “Put troops out there so we can thank them,” he says, “leave tanks for Red Square.” 

(Is that a “Trump loves Putin” slam?)

 

Reporters ask retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal if he’d attend if he was on active duty. His answer is instructive. “If my soldiers were forced to come on a holiday and stand in the sun to do an event, I’d want to be there alongside them.” McChrystal has been critical of Trump before. Asked last January if he’d consider working in this administration, he said no. “It’s important for me to work for people I think are basically honest [emphasis added, here and throughout], who tell the truth as best they know it.” 

Trump, of course, responded maturely, even using air quotes. “‘General’ McChrystal got fired like a dog by Obama,” he tweeted. “Last assignment a total bust. Known for big, dumb mouth. Hillary lover!” 

Trump has probably insulted more American military heroes and leaders than any other president in history.

 

Speaking of military leaders – retired, so they don’t have to worry about career damage –  who have been highly critical of the current occupant of the White House, let’s add Adm. William McRaven. He’s the man who led the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. In May, he made it clear. He thought the biggest threat to the nation was not terrorists, but Donald R. Trump: 

An attack on the press or an attack on the Department of Justice, or to imply that there are dirty cops at the F.B.I. or to ignore the intelligence community, I think, really undermines our institutions. And that makes me fearful of the future direction of the nation.

 

This criticism from military leaders causes Super Patriot Lou Dobbs to lose his red, white, and blue marbles, and rant and rave about generals he says are “snowflakes” and “haven’t won a war since 1991.” 

Dobbs, of course, is one of those rabid patriots who never served, though he was a perfect age to go to Vietnam and get shot at, had he been inclined. Like Trump, Dobbs decided he’d rather not get wounded or killed if he could avoid it.

 

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Stunned British wonder where airplanes came from. 

THE BIG MOMENT finally arrives. The parade kicks off without a hitch. Trump gets to give his speech. It rains a lot. The fireworks turn out to be cool. Nobody gets run over by a tank. Our freedoms remain intact. 

We owe those freedoms to the men and women who serve, as well as past leaders who believed in the rule of law. You know: Washington and Monroe, Zachary Taylor and Grant, Hayes and McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt and Truman, Eisenhower and Bush 41, people who didn’t talk about having the military on “their” side. Guys who served when they had a chance.

 

The president does have one epic moment during his speech. Rain partially knocks out the teleprompters and Trump messes up his speech. Referring to the heroic efforts of our military men and women in 1781 (Deborah Sampson, anyone), he talks of their hard-won success. “The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown. Our Army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do.”  

Yes, the Continental Army “manned the air.” The soldiers “rammed the ramparts.” They “took over the airports.” 

Apparently, Washington’s air force bombed hell out of the Redcoats, catching Lord Cornwallis “of Yorktown” by surprise, making the stunned British wonder where the hell those airplanes came from.

 

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IF TRUMP’S SPEECH was good for a laugh, up in Alaska the people of Anchorage weren’t exactly enjoying a normal Fourth of July. The city and surrounding area were under a “burn ban” advisory. Sixteen straight months of above average temperatures had dried out much of the state. The National Weather Service was predicting that Alaska’s largest city would hit a high of 85 degrees for the day, possibly topping the all-time record. 

(In fact, Anchorage hit 90° F for the day.)

 

Daniel Swain, a University of California, Los Angeles, climate scientist, tweeted earlier in the week: 

Southern Alaska’s ongoing #heatwave is expected to intensify significantly over coming week. Strength of high-pressure ridge at mid-levels of atmosphere may exceed all-time records over much of state. Surface temperatures may also reach all-time records in southern areas.

 

A quick visit to showyourstripes.info makes clear the same trend is showing up around the world. Blue bars indicate years which were cooler than average for the period measured. Around the globe, including Alaska, temperatures in recent years are shattering records. Temperatures for Alaska span the years 1901-2018:

 

 

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FINALLY, REP. JUSTIN AMASH (R-MI) announces he is leaving the party. “Today, I am declaring my independence and leaving the Republican Party. No matter your circumstance, I’m asking you to join me in rejecting the partisan loyalties and rhetoric that divide and dehumanize us.” 

Trump immediately proves Amash was right to be concerned, tweeting:

 

 

 

And that’s how Trump brings us all closer together on this most American of national holidays. (See: 7/16/19.)