Trump biographer explains the biggest thing General Milley got wrong about the former president

Trump biographer Tim O'Brien penned a column on Tuesday explaining one big thing the new Bob Woodward/Bob Costa's book Peril gets wrong.

It was reported Tuesday that Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was terrified that Trump would go to war and launch a nuclear strike to try to stay in power. He went so far as to promise China that if Trump did something like that he'd flag it for China ahead of time.

Pelosi called Milley after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to ask about what "precautions are available to prevent an unstable president from initiating military hostilities," a transcript of the call said.

There were "a lot of checks in the system," Milley told her.

"He's crazy. You know he's crazy," Pelosi said. "He's crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness."

"I agree with you on everything," Milley answered.

The excerpt of the book also claimed that Milley believed Trump "suffered a mental decline after the election."

O'Brien explained that it may seem that Trump went "rogue" or became worse, but the reality is that "Trump was the same guy before and after the 2020 presidential election and on Jan. 6 that he was when he was elected in 2016."

In fact, Trump is the same guy he has been for decades, he explained.

"Love him or hate him, Trump is consistent and has stayed true to form for most of his 75 years. It's that authenticity that endears him to his supporters," O'Brien wrote.

For anyone watching closely, Trump's anger about 2020 is the same as his allegations of "voter fraud" in 2016 when he said that he actually won the popular vote because of millions of "illegal" votes. It's the same as the lie that his crowd at the inauguration was bigger than former President Barack Obama.

"The risks that the country, the rule of law and our institutions still confront stems from that reality," said O'Brien. "The Republican Party continues to embrace and foment Trumpism. Much could still go wrong. And we can't rely on military leaders going rogue to protect us from rogue presidents."

He said that the fact that Milley had to go around Trump proves how broken things are.

"Milley is a sophisticated and dedicated public servant, and he was well aware how his actions would appear," the column says.

"Milley also understands where all this might be headed," the piece closed. "He compared the Jan. 6 insurrection to the failed 1905 uprising in Russia. While the 1905 rebellion sputtered out and was repressed, it paved the way for the more seismic and indelible Russian Revolution of 1917."

Milley confessed to senior staffers that the Jan. 6 attack could have been "a precursor to something far worse down the road."

O'Brien said that Milley's options, not his actions, should be what causes fear.

Peril goes on sale Sept. 21.

Read the full column at Bloomberg.