A new book has been grabbing headlines for nearly a week with its claims that Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.
The book, ""I Alone Can Fix It: Trump’s Final Year" by Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, says Milley called the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol a “Reichstag Moment” for Trump, referring to the burning of the German parliament in 1933 that allowed Hitler to seize absolute power.
Also making headlines is Trump's denial of the book's claim that Milley believed Trump was plotting a coup, a denial in which Trump dismissed the general as someone who "choked like a dog" under pressure from "the Fake News."
Not mentioned in the book, however, is the fact that Trump appointed Milley to the premier command in the U.S. armed forces over the choice of the Pentagon brass.
In 2019, most Pentagon-watchers wagered that the successor to Gen. Joseph Dunsford as JCS chairman would be Air Force Chief of Staff and Lieutenant General David L. Goldfein.
Goldfein was backed behind the scenes for the appointment by Dunsford and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Goldfein was a command pilot with more than 4,200 flying hours and had served as director of the Joint Staff — the right hand of the chairman of the JCS.
But to the surprise of those watching the process, Trump instead named U.S. Army Chief of Staff Milley to the JCS chairmanship. The president had reportedly been feuding with Mattis, sources said, and had developed a good rapport with Milley during the interview process.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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