Just like everyone remembers where they were for other important and impactful events – the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the first man to walk on the moon, September 11, 2001 – everyone will remember where they were the day a U.S. president used military force to “dominate” the American people.
Retired Navy Adm. William McRaven: "You’re not gonna use, whether it’s the military or the National Guard or law enforcement, to clear peaceful American citizens for the president of the U.S. to do a photo-op. There is nothing morally right about that."https://t.co/op3YDSCyiP
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 5, 2020
Some top military officials, including Trump’s former secretary of defense Jim Mattis, have spoken out against the actions taken by Trump on Monday to clear the way for him to have a photo-op, ordering law enforcement, including members of the military, to shoot protesters with gas and rubber bullets.
Retired Adm. William McRaven, the military official credited with overseeing the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, called Trump’s actions “not morally right” during an interview with MSNBC. McRaven joined a chorus of others speaking out against Trump.
According to Axios:
‘[McRaven] joined a growing chorus of individuals who condemned the president’s actions. President Trump’s former Defense Secretary James Mattis wrote that the photo op was an “abuse of executive power” that made “a mockery of our Constitution.”‘
Retired Navy Admiral William McRaven: “Nothing Morally Right” About Trump Bible Photo-Op https://t.co/VGHM9uNgfx pic.twitter.com/ZBiBfLpIGA
— R. Saddler 📎🗽🌊🌊🌊 (@Politics_PR) June 5, 2020
“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try,” General James Mattis writes in this extraordinary condemnation. https://t.co/3C6vTTz4pd
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) June 3, 2020
McRaven’s condemnation comes following a statement printed in The Atlantic by Mattis, who said he entirely disagreed with Trump’s use of the military. Mattis has been notoriously silent during his time in the White House, so the statement was quite impactful on the debate between Democrats and Republicans over whether or not the act was constitutional.
‘When I joined the military, some 50 years ago. I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.’
John Kelly being interviewed by Scaramucci says "I agree with him" of what Mattis said.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 5, 2020
Former Trump chief of staff and Marine Corps Get. John Kelly spoke out on Friday in support of Mattis with some harsh and powerful words against the current U.S. president.
According to The Guardian:
‘I think we need to look harder at who we elect…I think we should look at people that are running for office and put them through the filter. What is their character like? What are their ethics?’
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
