ANALYSIS – Words matter. In a post on his Truth Social platform last Friday, former President Donald Trump suggested that outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley deserved to be executed after speaking with China's top general during Trump's final months in office.
Trump said Milley's “treasonous act” was “so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”
Clearly, Trump wasn't threatening to do so but saying that Milley's actions could have been punished by death in a prior era.
I condemned Milley's actions at the time because they seemed to give the Chinese Communist regime a promise that they would be given a warning prior to any attack under Trump.
While Milley claims his actions were a normal part of his duties, I disagree.
They appeared to be more a normal part of the mission that he took upon himself, which was to counter Trump when Milley believed the president had crossed some line only Milley could see.
Some argue that Milley's actions were not only disloyal to the president but also borderline ‘treasonous.'
Milley contends that he was behaving appropriately to avert an accidental war. He responded to Trump's comments on CBS:
He also assured viewers that he had adequate safety measures for himself and his family.
The two backchannel calls to China's top general, Li Zuocheng, that Milley made, and at the center of all this, were revealed in the 2021 book “Peril.”
As CNN reported:
In October 2020, as intelligence suggested China believed the US was going to attack them, Milley sought to calm Li by reassuring him that the US was not considering a strike, according to the book. Milley called again two days after the January 6 riot at the US Capitol to tell Li that the US is “100 percent steady” even though “things may look unsteady.”
How much of this reporting in the book was accurate, is hard to say. But Trump sees things very differently.
Trump said that Milley “turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States.”
And Trump may be right. For Milley to do that could be seen as highly inappropriate, if not exactly ‘treasonous.'
Still, Trump, a former president, and current front-runner for the Republican nomination for president, is way out of line. No American political leader should be using that kind of language against any American military official or political leader.
In today's volatile climate, it is extremely dangerous.
Yet few in the GOP will condemn Trump's statements. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is one of those willing to take aim at the Republican frontrunner. Politico quoted Hutchinson as saying:
To suggest that Gen. Milley should be executed is inexcusable and dangerous. While some will excuse this latest outrage as Trump just being Trump, the fact is that his statement endangers people and is an insult to those who serve in the military.
Perennial Trump critic, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, had stronger words, calling Trump an “absolute child” for the “reprehensible” remarks.
But it is part of a disturbing pattern by both sides to use dangerously inflammatory rhetoric at the highest levels against the other side.
Democrats raised the political temperature considerably against Trump, calling for, or at least condoning the calls for, his beheading and death on many occasions.
The demonization of Trump by the left and Democrat Party was more than I had ever seen in over thirty years in and around U.S. politics.
It was, and still is, outrageous.
But Trump isn't helping things with his own dangerous rhetoric.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
Milley didn’t get to that position because he was a great military strategist. That extra star comes through from actions pleasing to the right people.
obama really believed in that, he fired all the real military leaders because they believed in following our constitution, and replaced them with politicians in uniform that would do whatever he wanted. In was pretty much all down hill after that. I’m so glad that I retired from my 26 years of military service before obama’s time, otherwise I probably would have been stripped of my commission and drummed out of the service. I still believe that his mission was to do as much damage to this country that he hates as he could get away with. Thank God he was gone before he was able to do more damage than he did.
And what he didn’t do, and the Biden regime with Austin didn’t do, Moochelle will do when she? swoops in to accept the nomination after the current liar is finally hung out to dry by the leftist cognoscenti.
I remember that. 102 High Ranking Flag Officers Fired by Obama. In the details the charges were called all B.S. It was termed a liberal gutting of the Pentagon. They were fired because they refused to “fire on American citizens if ordered”. The story was kept out of the headlines too.
I’ve got my first check for a total of thirteen thousand US dollars. I am so energized, this is whenever I first really acquired something. I will work much harder now and I can hardly hang tight for the following week’s installment. Go to the Home tab for more detail. I highly recommend everyone to apply.. www.Payathome7.com
How did this obvious spam post get approved?????????
Which, if you remember, was Trump appointing him over the negative recommendations of SecDef Mattis. Of course, Mattis was on his way out, so why listen to him?
He wears the badges of the Special Forces and the Rangers. I wonder how he managed to get those. Surely not by working for them.
Yes Milley’s actions were treasonist.
I guess some people can’t read very well. Trumps statement said that in other times Milleys actions would have resulted in death. Doesn’t sound like a threat, only a statement of fact. Leave it to the left and their stooges in the msm to make up everything and anything, true or not, to slam Trump.
The left can’t find anything other than this sort of issue bring up. Look at how their indictments have spurred support for Trump. This is so like the “some good people are on both sides” deliberate misconstruing by the left.
Whitragemilleys military career may be done with.But he isn’t done with yet,this woke general orchistrated a coup, against our sitting president,DJT, and admitted it.Very stupid for a man of his stature,lol,throughout history a traitor, or turncoat, as they say,could face the firing squad.There is alot to look at with this guys,involvement in Aghanistan, and on from there,alot of incompetence,from,whiteragemilley,dartvaderaustin,mckenzie,and another general.Let’s review what they did,why,?
in a sane world, Milley would have been at least cashiered for collusion with a sworn enemy. Biden kept him on because he sees China as a cash cow.
I certainly hope Pres Trump did. What else do you call it when a military member offers to tip off the enemy on possible military action. Sounds like treason to me.
milley is a woke queer and had no reason to be calling a chinese general about anything!!! He ought to me led into congress like a dog and stripped of all his stripes and sent to Russia to live under the russian regime and lets see how long they put up with the treasonous bastard!!!.
Miley told secrets to China as a very high ranking officer in USA. He did do “out of school “, that means without permission of the President . Way wrong and criminal, it should have cost him his rank, his post and possibly immediately being separated from the Service. Jail time would not be off the table. Treason is applicable.
From what I read here, President Trump never threatened the General, he just stated a fact.. I guess when you are after headlines and not really news,, you twist the facts to fit your stiry..
*should be story
There is no defense for what Milley did. When Trump returns I hope he reforms the military and cleanses it of all the woke cancer that hinders it.
I served in the Amy and was proud to do so, but I would not serve under Milley and the clowns we have in charge of this country now. I would refuse and move to Canada if they tried to draft me. At the very minimum Milley committed an act of insubordination and he should have been court marshaled and reduced in grade and summarily discharged. The only reason he would not get the firing squad is we were not at war with China. The little flowery speech he gave where he condemned Trump again should be viewed in the reverse of what he said. By his actions a major General gave aide and comfort to our enemies and took it upon himself to act like a dictator by putting himself above his Commander in Chief. As for Asa he is a RINO and has always been a RINO and will always be a RINO. The same goes for the lard bucket Ghristie who hopes to gain support for his actions against Trump. It will do Christie no good because people would vote for Kamala before voting for a rat.
Awesome Tumbleweed!
Milley’s actions can be seen as placing the USA in great peril. After all, what would the military leader(s) of ANY other nation(s) conclude from the top USA general calling them and saying “Hey, just so you know, I’ll be sure and call you if I’m ordered to attack you guys!” Would they not suppose that an unwarranted sneak attack was a definite possibility?! And would they not then feel justified in considering a preemptive sneak attack of their own or at least to take addiitonal contingency measures to prepare for war? WTF?!?!?!
The inflammatory rhetoric has been coming from the left for years, and in fact they are now taking it to the actual action (examples J6, Whitmer kidnapping trial, 91 indictments against Trump with none against Biden nor anyone else for similar actions). Your “irresponsible” message is about 20 years late.
Indeed!
Since when do military leaders conduct US foreign policy on their own? Milley arguably motivated PRC/CCP to consider a first strike on the USA with his meddling.
During one of Trumps phony impeachment trials Milley proudly admitted that “he had called his military counterpart in the C.C.P. military to let him know that he, Milley, would contact the C.C.P. officer if Trump ever decided to attack China”.
At the time Trump was Commander In Chief” of the U.S. military and Milley committed the highest level of insubordination possible. Milley should have been “court martial-ed” the very next day and faced a firing squad. That is how traitors are supposed to be dealt with.