Revelations that retired Gen. Mark Milley thinks Donald Trump is “a total fascist” and a danger to U.S. democracy appear to be nagging at the Republican presidential nominee.
“I had a real general, not a television general,” Trump said Monday during a rally in Greenville, North Carolina. “Not a general that likes to write books. Stupid people. These are stupid people.”
Perhaps Trump was referring to retired Lt. General H.R. McMaster, the former president‘s national security adviser who wrote a book critical of Trump. But it was unclear as Trump hopscotched from boasting about ending ISIS to “stupid” unnamed generals who write books to illegal immigration and sanctuary cities before moving on to attacking his current political opponent: Kamala Harris.
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Milley, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Trump’s administration, was quoted in Bob Woodward’s new book, War, saying Trump is “a total fascist” and “the most dangerous person to this country.”
“Oh, and the things he said in that book,” Trump said Monday.
“This stupid guy—Milley. He‘s the one that said ‘leave the equipment,’" Trump, 78, said, referring—presumably—to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He added: “That’s when I knew I had a real dummy.”
Milley graduated from Princeton University and earned Master’s degrees from Columbia University and the U.S. Naval War College.
Milley expressed concerns about Trump years ago, but his recent comments are his strongest yet. He has said he felt so unsafe for fear of retribution by Trump supporters that he installed bullet proof glass and blast-proof curtains at his house.
Kamala Harris has spent the final weeks of her campaign showcasing former Trump administration officials and other Republicans who have abandoned the former president to endorse her. Several former top U.S. military officials have endorsed Harris, but Milley has not yet done so.
Last week, Harris shared the stage with nearly twenty GOP supporters at a rally outside of Philadelphia, and on Monday, she is traversing the Blue Wall states with former Rep. Liz Cheney, a conservative who has shunned Trump.
Former allies’ betrayals are among the barbs that seem to wound Trump the most—judging from the insults that fly from his lips (and from his Truth Social account).
