Trump slams ex-Pentagon chief Mark Esper, doesn’t deny allegations in book
Former President Trump hit back at his onetime Secretary of Defense Mark Esper as a “lightweight” and Republican in name only but did not deny bombshell allegations that he wanted to shoot racial justice protesters or fire missiles at drug targets in Mexico.
Trump accused Esper of keeping quiet about Trump’s more outlandish suggestions because he was an eager-to-please rubber stamp.
“Mark Esper was a stiff who was desperate not to lose his job. He would do anything I wanted, that’s why I called him ‘Yesper,’” Trump said in a statement to CBS News which aired an interview Sunday with Esper on “60 Minutes.”
“He was a lightweight and figurehead, and I realized it very early on,” Trump added.
Trump did not deny several of Esper’s explosive claims, like that he wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act to crack down on peaceful protest or fire missiles at Mexico.
Trump wanted to troops to open fire on racial justice protesters: Ex-Pentagon chief
He also did not explain why he did not actually carry out those actions if Esper was so malleable.
“The fact is I didn’t need to invoke the act and never did,” Trump said.
Trump said he only appointed Esper because he was bamboozled by “some RINOs.” Esper served as Pentagon chief until Trump fired him immediately after Election Day 2020.
“I fired (Esper) because he was a RINO incapable of leading and I had to lead the military myself,” Trump said in the statement.
When asked for comment on this interview, the office of former President Donald Trump provided the following statement to 60 Minutes. https://t.co/QBrwHL2cR2 pic.twitter.com/MZUCrfxgha
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 8, 2022
Esper leveled the allegations against Trump in his forthcoming tell-all “A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times,” which hits bookstores Tuesday.
The ex-secretary of the Army says he was flabbergasted at some of the suggestions that Trump made, especially opening fire on protesters and firing missiles at targets in Mexico.
He claims hardline Trump aide Stephen Miller also pressed him to dispatch 250,000 troops to the southern border and wanted the U.S. to parade the severed head of a slain ISIS leader to deter other extremists, a claim Miller denies.
Like other Trump subordinates, Esper kept quiet about the dangerous behavior even after he was fired and failed to speak out during Trump’s impeachment trial.
The book’s manuscript underwent intense and lengthy vetting for accuracy, adding credibility to the accounts in it, which dozens of witnesses including other top brass verified.
