On the one hand, Team Trump is launching legally dubious power grabs and wreaking havoc. On the other hand, these guys have no idea what theyre doing.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3lgvgdd2bus2y
For a while, Trump was content to go after retired Gen. Mark Milley with juvenile taunts and name-calling.
As Team Trump pulls Milley's security clearance and targets his rank, it's vastly worse now.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/team-trumps-revenge-tour-now-includes-retired-gen-mark-milley-rcna189793
Within hours of his presidential inauguration
, Trump complained publicly about the pardon his former handpicked chairman of the joint chiefs of staff received. Soon after, the White House directed the Pentagon to take down a portrait of Milley. The next morning, the Republican president fired Milley from an advisory panel.
Each of those steps were, of course, petty and largely inconsequential. They left little doubt that the retired general was on Trumps mind, but the moves did little more than make the president look small.
They were, however, just the initial steps from Team Trump. NBC News reported:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley that he is revoking his security detail and clearance and ordering a review of the retired generals conduct to see whether his rank should be re-evaluated, the Pentagon said. Hegseth, whose first day at the Pentagon was Monday, directed the Defense Departments inspector general to look into the facts and circumstances surrounding Milleys conduct so that the Secretary may determine whether it is appropriate to reopen his military grade review determination, Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said.
For good measure, according to multiple published reports, the Pentagon is also taking down a different Milley portrait, recognizing him as a former chief of staff of the Army.
.....Obviously,
the retired general has become the latest target in Team Trumps post-inaugural revenge tour, but just as notable is the broader message to everyone else: If you anger the president, you too may find yourself facing the kind of fury that Milley is facing now.
In the run-up to the 2024 elections,
the former chairman of the joint chiefs reportedly told Bob Woodward that he believes Trump is a fascist to the core. That assessment appears unlikely to change anytime soon.