Trump to address West Point
Tensions have soared
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump plans to address the new graduating class of the West Point military academy Saturday, 13 June, as relations with the Pentagon fray over accusations that he has politicized the US military.
Tensions have soared in two weeks since Trump threatened to call out active duty troops to deal with antipolice brutality protests around the country, and then staged a surprise photo op with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chair General Mark Milley at a site that had been forcefully cleared of protesters.
Esper’s job was reportedly in the balance last week after he took the extraordinary step of breaking with the president by declaring he would not support calling up regular troops to stifle protests.
And Trump’s actions drew scathing criticisms from former Pentagon chiefs — including Esper’s predecessor James Mattis, who accused Trump of deliberately dividing the country, abusing his power and making “a mockery” of the US constitution.
On Thursday, Milley said he regretted his presence at Trump’s side on 1 June, when National Guard fired smoke bombs and pepper balls to clear hundreds of peaceful protestors from outside the White House so the president could walk across and pose for pictures at a nearby a church.
I should not have been there.
Trump’s display, with Milley wearing his camouflage battle uniform, drew strong criticism that he had turned the Pentagon into a political tool of repression.
“I should not have been there,” Milley told graduates of the elite National Defense University, adding that his presence “created a perception of military involvement in domestic politics.”