SecDef Mark Esper Briefly Grows Pair, Presents It As Love Gift To Dear Leader Trump

We'll always remember those five minutes on Wednesday.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had a good solid moment there where he was acting like a real person with real opinions of his own. Sure, he was trying to cover his ass at the time, but at least he was brave enough ("brave") to say that Donald Trump using the military to attack the American people was, at the very least, not a #BeBest idea. And he said more than five words about racist policing being bad. Not many more than five words, but it was at least an effort of some kind.

Like we said, it was a good solid moment.

After Esper's press conference Wednesday morning, it was announced that some of the active duty troops that had been ordered into Washington DC, members of the 82nd Airborne, were going back to Fort Bragg, with the rest of the active duty troops to go back home before too long. But then the leaks started, and they came right from the White House. "I dunno, but Secretary Esper's job might just be in danger, shame if anything happened to him," they more-or-less said. Trump is "not happy," they said. "I think this is the end for him," somebody else said. "As of right now," said malevolent prick Kayleigh McEnany, Esper is the Defense secretary, but she'd be sure to let y'all know if that changes.

Well, never let it be said that Mark Esper has a backbone or the courage of his convictions, because late Wednesday afternoon, he was summoned to the White House for what we imagine was a good ass-licking (him giving, not receiving), and after that meeting it was announced that actually those active duty troops in DC would be staying right where they were. You know, the ones Trump called up so he could use them to make war on the American people.

It was literally a 180, as NBC News notes . At lunchtime, the troops were going back home. By 5 p.m., LOL JK JK!

In an abrupt reversal, Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday overturned an earlier Pentagon decision to send a couple hundred active-duty soldiers home from the Washington, D.C., region, amid growing tensions with the White House over the military response to the protests.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press that he was told about the reversal after Esper attended a meeting at the White House, and after other internal Pentagon discussions. It is unclear if Esper met with President Donald Trump.

So what happened at the White House? Dunno. Maybe Putin sent over Esper's file and they showed it to him. Or maybe they threatened him in other ways. In a mobbed up White House full of criminal thugs, you just can never tell. It's also possible that Esper is just a craven chickenshit who cares more about power than he cares about the oath he swore. (Jim Mattis has some fuckin' opinions about Esper's behavior the past few days, oh yes he does.)

To be clear, those troops are still supposed to be leaving DC soon. But, insists Army Secretary McCarthy, "it's a dynamic situation," and they still want to send them home, but obviously they had to stay a bit longer even though Esper said they were going home and even though it's pretty fucking outrageous that they're even there because Trump wants to use them to attack the American people on American soil in the first place.

Did the White House force Esper to reverse himself just to make him look bad? We dunno, do YOU think the Trump White House would be that petty? Heaven forfend you even make that suggestion, these are very serious people we are talking about!

If Mark Esper would like to grow a real spine and actually speak out for the Constitution and the American people against the greatest threat to this country, whose name is Donald and who currently lives at the White House, today would be a good day for that.

Or just resign.

Here's an extremely powerful ad from the Lincoln Project calling on Esper and Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to do just that:

📺 @realDonaldTrump is no longer hiding that he’s a brazen authoritarian, so desiring of control and power that he’s… https: //t.co/CltdZ8apiB

— The Lincoln Project (@The Lincoln Project) 1591222201.0 

[ AP ]

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