Donald Trump's former defense secretary Mark Esper doesn't expect the phone to ring with offers to join his second administration.
The former Pentagon chief joined with other military leaders who served under Trump in warning of his "fascist" inclinations, particularly his fascination with using troops against Americans who disagree with him, and Esper offered some advice to potential Cabinet members.
"I think the past is a predicate for the future," Esper told CNN. "There will be expectations of you in those roles, again the expectation is that you are loyal to Trump and his agenda, and at this point in time people should go in with eyes wide open, but I do hope good people go in. We want president Trump to succeed, we want our country to succeed, which means good people going in there and propping up the institutions and making sure they serve him as best they can, consistent with how previous administrations have served presidents."
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CNN's John Berman asked whether he would consider joining the incoming administration, but he demurred.
"The phone's not going to ring, John," Esper said. "As much as I have enjoyed serving my country, this administration is not for me, and I have been there once and I will leave it for other people to serve. I am a Reagan Republican and I have a new different view of the world, and I think it's important for America to lead in the world, and to support Ukraine, to support Taiwan, to support Israel and a variety of things, and I also believe that character and integrity matters and I want to preserve institutions, particularly the Department of Defense, where I think it is important we retain the civil military relations, where DOD has held up as at least one institution left that is widely respected by the American people. "
Esper admitted that he was concerned that civilian leadership of the military would erode during a second Trump presidency.
"Every president pushes it to one degree or another," Esper said. "Trump did in his first term, [Joe] Biden did a little bit, as well, but Trump said there are certain things he wants to do that involves the military, and I get concerned about that because I think our United States military is very special. Its role within society going back to the founding of the country 250-some years ago is unique, and we have to preserve that. We can't lose the trust and respect of the American people, and if it gets politicized or used against the American people, that's where the risks start happening."
Trump will return to the White House with a Republican Senate majority and possibly a House majority, and while Esper was pleased that he delivered on GOP priorities in his first term he's concerned with what he might do with unchecked power.
"President Trump delivered on a lot of Republican objectives and principles like lower taxes, deregulation, conservative Supreme Court, the Abraham Accords – you can go on and on and on," Esper said. "The problem is too often he went too far, and I think we will all be watching to see will he go too far in any of these domains, and it's going to be a challenge, now arguably he has a mandate, he's going to have control of the Senate and probably the House and at least two years where he can push his agenda through, whatever it may end up being."
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