Defense Secretary tries to rein in Trump’s authoritarian impulses; gets fired for it
- On This Day In The Trump Administration
- Jun 26, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 26, 2024
June 26: On This Day In 2020
Defense Secretary Mark Esper was one of the few Trump officials who commanded respect from colleagues, subordinates, and most of the media. Esper also stood on the side of traditional American values. These personality traits annoyed his boss, the Commander-in-Chief. So there was bound to be tension.
OTDI 2020, reports surfaced that Esper had opposed a proposal by Trump’s team to move 10,000 American troops out of Germany. Pentagon brass was concerned that it would leave NATO forces more vulnerable to an increasingly bellicose Russia. Indeed, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 would prove their prescience.
Their friction grew more intense in the summer of 2020, when Esper opposed Trump’s demand that active-duty military be used to quell protests following the George Floyd murder. “Can’t you just shoot them?” Trump asked about the protestors.
Jonathan Karl reported on additional stances Esper took which irritated the president, including: Vowing to be apolitical, barring the Confederate flag on military bases, focusing the department on Russia, and actively pushing for diversity and inclusion. The horror!
Esper’s days were numbered. As he had done to his staffers after the 2018 midterms, Trump waited until just after the 2020 election to fire Esper, so Trump wouldn’t look so bad to voters.
Esper later revealed a few more tidbits. Among many astonishing incidents he wrote about: Trump wanted to fire missiles into Mexico, he seemed eager to shoot protestors, and Esper feared that Trump might have been planning to use the military here in the United States to stage a coup.
Esper concluded that Trump “is an unprincipled person who, given his self-interest, should not be in the position of public service.”
Dive Deeper
CBS News reported on Esper opposing Trump on use of troops against protestors
CNN reported on Esper opposing troop redeployment from Germany
Trump fires Esper, as detailed by NPR
Stunning revelations on Trump in Esper’s book, as summarized by NY1
The Karl excerpt is in Vanity Fair
Summary: Trump fires defense secretary Mark Esper who tried to rein him in