Donald Trump to Military Leaders and Top Security Officials: “You’re a Bunch of Dopes and Babies”
Remember when it was reported that former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had called Trump “a fucking moron” after an especially disturbing meeting at the Pentagon?
We didn’t know the half of it.
Now an excerpt from a new book has more details, and that meeting was much worse than we knew. Everything you suspected about Donald Trump’s narcissism, egomania and deliberate ignorance — confirmed.
When Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tried to educate Trump on national security and world affairs, it… well, it didn’t exactly go as they hoped.
“You’re a bunch of dopes and babies”: Inside Trump’s stunning tirade against generals.
So on July 20, 2017, Mattis invited Trump to the Tank for what he, Tillerson, and Cohn had carefully organized as a tailored tutorial. What happened inside the Tank that day crystallized the commander in chief’s berating, derisive and dismissive manner, foreshadowing decisions such as the one earlier this month that brought the United States to the brink of war with Iran. The Tank meeting was a turning point in Trump’s presidency. Rather than getting him to appreciate America’s traditional role and alliances, Trump began to tune out and eventually push away the experts who believed their duty was to protect the country by restraining his more dangerous impulses.
The episode has been documented numerous times, but subsequent reporting reveals a more complete picture of the moment and the chilling effect Trump’s comments and hostility had on the nation’s military and national security leadership.
[…]
Trump by now was in one of his rages. He was so angry that he wasn’t taking many breaths. All morning, he had been coarse and cavalier, but the next several things he bellowed went beyond that description. They stunned nearly everyone in the room, and some vowed that they would never repeat them. Indeed, they have not been reported until now.
“I wouldn’t go to war with you people,” Trump told the assembled brass.
Addressing the room, the commander in chief barked, “You’re a bunch of dopes and babies.”
Read the whole thing if you can stand it. We already knew the US was in very great danger with this know-nothing cocksure jackweasel in charge, but this is seriously jaw-dropping stuff.