Unprecedented Intervention by Military Leaders Against Trump PR Stunt

https://vimeo.com/429037136 Historian Peter Kuznick and Paul Jay discuss the significance of the generals' statements and what can be learned from FDR during the 1930's - on theAnalysis.news podcast. Rush Transcript Paul Jay Hi, I'm Paul Jay, and welcome to theAnalysis.news podcast. The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon's top general apologized on Thursday, June 11th, for appearing alongside President Trump near the White House after authorities forcibly removed peaceful protesters from the area, saying that it was, "a mistake that I have learned from".  General Mark Milley the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "His presence created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics".   In the same week Joe Biden said he was sure that if Trump loses the election and refuses to leave the White House, the military will escort him out. The Guardian reports that the retired Marine general who led the global coalition against ISIS and commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan has warned that Donald Trump's actions this week could start a U.S., "slide into illiberalism" and the beginning of the end of "the American experiment".  In denouncing the president for his response to the George Floyd protests retired General John Allen became the latest in a string of venerable military figures to have gone public over what they describe as the threat posed by Trump to the nonpolitical nature of the armed forces and more broadly, to U.S. democracy. The fact that there is a serious conversation taking place about Trump defying the constitution and ignoring election results shows how in disarray U.S. governance and its political system are. Is the statement by General Milley a direct shot across Trump's bow, saying that the military will not allow Trump to act unconstitutionally? Is there any historical precedent for the chair of the Joint Chiefs publicly distancing himself from the president? Now joining us to discuss the significance of the generals statements and what we can learn from the Great Depression of the 1930s and the mass movement of the 1960s is Peter Cousins. He's a professor of history and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University. The author of Beyond the Laboratory Scientists as Political Activists in 1930s America,.He and filmmaker Oliver Stone co-authored the 12 part Showtime documentary film, series and book, both titled The Untold History of the United States. Welcome, Peter.  Peter Kuznick Glad to be with you, Paul. Paul Jay So start with Milley's comments about his participation at that church and then retired General John Allen statements. Is this unprecedented? What kind of message are they sending to Trump? Peter Kuznick This is really unprecedented. We know that during the Vietnam War, a number of military officials did speak out condemning the war, but had this many high ranking military officers, former military officers and some active duty denounce what happened is really unprecedented. And if you look at the comments that Milley made is he can let it be known that he considered resigning over this. What happened there was absolutely disgraceful. You had the National Guard and you had other officers clearing out peaceful protesters far in advance of the curfew who were not disruptive in any way. Clear them out with with grenades, flash bang grenades, with pepper spray, with rubber bullets tear gas. And then to do this so that Trump could have his photo op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church holding up a Bible. You know, as people comment that it looked like it never held the...