Former President Donald Trump is taking another swipe at Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
According to an excerpt from The Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker’s forthcoming book “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year,” Milley was concerned Trump would attempt a coup following the election.
“They may try, but they’re not going to f—ing succeed,” Milley told his aides.
The former president released a statement on Friday criticizing the book and Milley.
“The writings within these third-rate books are Fake News, and ‘General’ Milley (who [former Defense Secretary James] Mattis wanted to send to Europe in order to get rid of him), if he said what was reported, perhaps should be impeached, or court-martialed and tried,” Trump said.
He continued, “So, there was no talk of a coup, there was no coup, it all never happened, and it’s just a waste of words by fake writers and a General who didn’t have a clue.”
Trump also said he “never once” had a “discussion with him about bringing in the Military, or a ‘coup,’ which makes sense, because I lost total confidence in him and the way he handled himself on our little walk to the church.”
In his statement on Thursday, the former president said, “If I was going to do a coup, one of the last people I would want to do it with is General Mark Milley.”
He added, “He got his job only because the world’s most overrated general, James Mattis, could not stand him, had no respect for him, and would not recommend him. To me, the fact that Mattis didn’t like him, just like Obama didn’t like him and actually fired Milley, was a good thing, not a bad thing. I often act counter to people’s advice who I don’t respect.”