Trump wanted to reinstate retired 4-star generals so he could court-martial them for criticizing him

According to a new book from former defense secretary Mark Esper, former President Donald Trump wanted the military to recall two retired four-star officers who criticized him so they could be court-martialed, Talking Points Memo reports.

Esper’s memoir, A Sacred Oath, claims Trump wanted former Gen. Stan McChrystal and former Navy Admiral William H. McRaven be reinstated into active duty so that they could be court-martialed for criticizing him, saying that they were “so disloyal.”

Trump allegedly became enraged after right-wing news outlets reported that McChrystal was advising the Democratic Party on ways to use artificial intelligence to damage Trump’s re-election campaign — news that “spun the president up,” according to Esper.

According to a copy of the book obtained by TPM, Trump also wanted to add McRaven to the court-martial plan, due to the fact that McRaven was an outspoken critic of Trump during his administration, writing in an October 2019 op-ed in the New York Times that the U.S. was “under attack” by Trump’s presidency.

“The president told Milley and me that he ‘want[ed] to call them [McChrystal and McRaven] back to active duty and court-martial them’ for what they said,” the book reads.

Trump only backed off the plan when Esper said he phone the retired generals and convinced to tamp down their criticism.

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.