Mark Esper, the latest member of the Donald Trump Cabinet to spill the beans on the chaos within the White House during Trump’s term, has given a surprisingly candid answer to a direct question.
He told “60 Minutes” about the thought Trump expressed about launching missiles in Mexico to stop drug traffickers. He said he pushed back on the notion that the POTUS was suggesting.
Why didn’t he reveal then, in real time what Trump was pondering, came the question from correspondent Norah O’Donnell.
“I was afraid I would get fired,” Esper said, adding that there was “no guarantee” that Trump would bring in a blind loyalist to succeed him, adding that then the nation would be in an even worse mess.
Hmm. Wow! Well stated, Mr. Defense Secretary.
Trump eventually did fire Esper because of the defense boss’s disagreement over invoking the Insurrection Act in response to D.C. protests over the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis. Esper said White House chief of staff Mark Meadows him Trump was unhappy with him because he was insufficiently loyal to Trump.
Esper said he responded, “I take my oath to the Constitution, not to a man.”
And yet … there remain voters out here who think it’s OK for a POTUS to demand personal loyalty over the oath all of them — even the president himself — take when they serve the public.