Trump fired Defense Secretary Esper because he ‘barred display of
Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper because he ‘barred the display of Confederate flags at military bases and refused to let the military go in to “put down” riots’, new book claims
- Trump fired Mark Esper by tweet six days after the 2020 election
- A new book says he was dismissed after a memo listed his ‘transgressions’ against the president
- They included ‘barring Confederate flags at military bases’
- And refusing to allow use of armed forces to put down riots
- In ‘Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show,’ reporter Jonathan Karl describes how Trump loyalists sought to root out dozens of Pentagon officials
Mark Esper was fired as Defense Secretary last year after Trump loyalists drew up a memo setting out what they saw as his transgressions against the president, according to a new book.
In ‘Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show,’ ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl details the last months of the administration and the figures pulling strings behind the scenes.
In some cases, he writes, they were young and inexperienced but were promoted for their loyalty and wielded considerable influence.
They included Johnny McEntee, who rose from being the president’s body man and aide, to director of the Presidential Personnel Office.
He installed Josh Whitehouse as the administration’s liaison to the Department of Defense.
‘I’m going to the Pentagon to fire [Defense Secretary Mark] Esper and those deep-state bastards,’ he told friends, according to Karl’s account.
President Trump fired Mark Esper as Defense Secretary by tweet, six days after the election – in line with a memo drafted by loyalists at the Presidential Personnel Office
John McEntee (l) with then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in May 2020
Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show by Jonathan Karl is published Nov 16 by Dutton
Once there he helped the Presidential Personnel Office write memos identifying almost two dozen Pentagon officials they thought should be fired.
The new book details the memo on Esper, which has never before been made public.
‘It includes bullet points outlining Esper’s sins: He “bars the display of the Confederate flag” on military bases; “opposed the President’s direction to utilize American forces to put down riots”; “focused the Department on Russia”; was “actively pushing for ‘diversity and inclusion’”; and so on,’ according to Karl.
‘The memo recommended that Esper be fired immediately after the election and replaced by Christopher Miller, then the director of the National Counterterrorism Center.’
Esper was fired six days after last year’s election, dismissed by a…
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