President Donald Trump is sharing his reaction to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley’s apology for participating in the president’s visit to St. John’s Episcopal Church.
During an interview with Fox News, Trump sat down with host Harris Faulkner where he briefly discussed Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaking out about the highly criticized church visit.
When asked if he thought the top generals’ statements were significant, Trump said, “No.”
“If that’s the way they feel, I think that’s fine,” he said.
“I have good relationships with the military. I’ve rebuilt our military. I’ve spent $2.5 trillion dollars. Nobody else did,” Trump added.
See Trump’s remarks below:
Trump reacts to Esper and Milley comments on the Lafayette Square photo op.
— Dave Brown (@dave_brown24) June 12, 2020
"If that's the way they feel, I think that's fine." pic.twitter.com/L11S3urwNV
Trump went on to state multiple, unfounded claims about the state of the military prior to his administration taking over.
Trump went on to applaud his own efforts, insisting the U.S. Military was a “joke” before he’d taken office.
“When we took it over from President Obama and Biden, the military was a joke. The military was depleted. They had planes that were 50, 60-years-old. They had old, broken equipment. We had no ammunition. Now, we have the greatest military we ever had,” Trump claimed.
Despite Trump’s claims, The Washington Post notes that a nonpartisan analysis conducted by the Congressional Budget Office showed the Department of Defense’s base budget actually signaled a 1.9% average annual increase from 2000-2014, a time period that spanned over the vast majority of Obama and Biden’s 8-year tenure.
Trump’s latest remarks follow multiple reactions from former and current military officials who did not approve of the president’s use of the military to forcefully disperse peaceful protesters from the streets of Washington, D.C., for his visit to the church.
Most recently, Milley released a video statement of apology for his participation in the president’s church visit and photo.
Watch Gen. Mark Milley, the country’s top military official, apologize for his role in President Trump’s walk across Lafayette Square for a photo op after authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the area of peaceful protesters.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 11, 2020
Read more. https://t.co/5ytpwCd3HF pic.twitter.com/mfDmWh4OMI
As a result of the series of events that unfolded that day, former Under Secretary of Defense James Miller resigned from the Defense Science Board and urged Esper to consider his stance, as previously reported on IJR.
The following day, Esper released a statement confirming that he did not support Trump’s threat to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to quell protests. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis also lambasted the president for his actions while criticizing his leadership.
Like Milley, Esper, Miller, and Mattis, most of the military personnel who have spoken out have referenced their ongoing effort to remain apolitical while focusing on the Constitutional oath they took for the United States.