U.S. Joint Chiefs denounce racism in stark terms
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top military officers issued public statements condemning racial bigotry and extremism, a rare foray into domestic politics that indicated deep unease in the Pentagon with President Donald Trump’s views on race and underscored his growing isolation Wednesday.
The social media posts from the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff — the commanders of the Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force — came amid a torrent of criticism of Trump as business executives abandoned his advisory councils, Republican elected officials distanced themselves from him and previously friendly foreign leaders criticized his comments suggesting an equivalence between neo-Nazi groups and their opponents.
In a further sign of an administration in crisis, Vice President Mike Pence announced he was cutting short a visit to South America to return to Washington a day early for meetings with Trump.
But it was the statements from the country’s top uniformed military leaders that broke most dramatically with precedent.
Each used his official Twitter account to denounce the far-right protesters behind Saturday’s deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va. — and not those who had confronted them.
They did not mention their commander in chief by name. But three of the four posts appeared after Trump sparked a bipartisan furor Tuesday by repeatedly blaming “both sides” for the clashes that followed a march by neo-Nazis, white supremacists and their allies, ending with the death of a counterprotester.
“The Army doesn’t tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks,” Gen. Mark Milley, chief of staff of the Army, tweeted Wednesday. “It’s against our Values and everything we’ve stood for since 1775.”
Similar implied denunciations of Trump’s stand poured in from former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, Republican leaders in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., as well as several major allies in Europe.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, one of the few European leaders who has been openly friendly with Trump, condemned the president’s comments.
“I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them, and I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views whenever we hear them,” May said in Portsmouth, England.
The last two Republican presidents signed a joint statement Wednesday declaring that “America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism and hatred in all forms.”
Like the military chiefs, the Bushes didn’t name Trump, but their statement broke with the usual practice of former presidents refraining from even indirect criticism of the sitting chief executive.
The rebukes underscored how Trump’s response has isolated him more than perhaps any incident since the “Access Hollywood” tape was leaked a month before the 2016 election. On it, Trump was heard crudely boasting a decade ago of his ability to get away with groping women.
“There’s a truism in ... politics: Just stay away from anything remotely involving Nazis,” commented Michael Steele, who headed the Republican National Committee from 2009 to 2011, the first African-American to hold the post.
Trump strained that tradition during last year’s campaign, appearing to embrace far-right groups who backed him. But as he seeks support in his latest self-created crisis, he is finding fewer safe harbors.