In recent weeks, some retired U.S. military commanders have been vehemently critical of President Donald Trump — from Gen. Colin Powell to Marine Gen. John Allen to Marine Gen. James Mattis (former secretary of defense in the Trump Administration). Another who is speaking out is Adm. Bill McRaven, the retired NAVY Seal who oversaw the raid in which al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan nine years ago.
On orders from President Barack Obama, that raid was conducted on May 2, 2011— resulting in the death of the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. McRaven has been a frequent Trump critic, and according to a June 8 article by MSNBC reporter Steve Benen, McRaven believes that Trump is failing the U.S. miserably.
McRaven told MSNBC, “As we have struggled with the COVID pandemic and horrible acts of racism and injustice, this president has shown none of (the) qualities (of great leaders). The country needs to move forward without him at the helm.”
The retired NAVY Seal is clearly hoping that Trump will be voted out of office in November. Benen quotes McRaven as saying, “This fall, it's time for new leadership in this country: Republican, Democrat or independent. President Trump has shown he doesn’t have the qualities necessary to be a good commander in chief.”
Benen stresses in his article that McRaven is by no means the only retired U.S. military commander who is speaking out against Trump. The MSNBC reporter notes that others who have been critical of Trump “over the last week” include “Gen. Tony Thomas, retired four-star Marine Gen. John Allen, retired three-star Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, retired four-star Gen. Michael Hayden, retired Maj. Gen. Steven Lepper, retired four-star Gen. Barry McCaffrey — and to a certain extent, even retired four-star Gen. John Kelly, who served as Trump's White House chief of staff.”
“For those keeping score,” Benen notes, “there are now four former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs who’ve publicly slammed Trump of late.”
Benen also points out that the Washington Post recently published an anti-Trump op-ed that was “co-authored by 78 former Defense Department officials, including four former Pentagon chiefs — two Democrats and two Republicans. It coincided with a statement, calling on the president not to use the U.S. military for political ends, co-signed by more than 280 retired diplomats, generals, and senior national security officials. Among the 280 signatories were more than 20 retired generals.”