‘Obscene!’ Morning Joe Crew Blast Pete Hegseth For Revoking Mark Milley’s Security Detail

The Morning Joe crew blasted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for revoking the security detail and clearance of retired General Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who served under President Donald Trump during his first term but later became a vocal critic.

Hegseth stripped Milley’s security detail on Tuesday with the Pentagon also confirming that the secretary also instructed the Department of Defense’s inspector general to assess whether Milley’s military grade should be reevaluated. The move marks an extraordinary step against a high-ranking retired officer.

On January 20, former President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons to several individuals, including Milley, as a safeguard against potential retaliation from Trump. Milley had previously described Trump as a “fascist” and provided detailed accounts of Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6 Capitol riot.

During Wednesday’s show on MSNBC the hosts and contributors rounded on Hegseth’s decision, with host Joe Scarborough highlighting Milley’s career and warning that he was “at risk of being a target of Iranian hit squads.”

“He is. There are legitimate threats to General Mark Milley. He has told friends about them, concerned about overseas threats, also concerned about threats coming from Trump supporters because Donald Trump has vilified him for so long,” co-host Jonathan Lemire said.

Lemire continued, detailing Milley’s “extensive combat experience” and deployments across the world while in the military, being “one of the most decorated soldiers of his generation.” He continued to list all of Milley’s awards and decorations to underscore his point.

“And now, because he has run afoul of Donald Trump, [he is] losing a security detail that would help keep him safe going forward,” Lemire added.

Scarborough then began, discussing the “lies” spread about Milley’s experience after he fell out of favor with Trump, which the host said were “preposterous.”

He continued: “This attack on General Milley, of course, comes from a secretary of defense now who claimed he was going to get politics out of the military and was going to focus on readiness and creating a warrior culture. And so to say this was a depressing move but also entirely predictable is what alot of people in the military, retired and active, are saying right now.”

Morning Joe contributor Mike Barnicle weighed in: “Joe, they can take away General Milley’s security detail and they can threaten him with an inspector general’s report and assessment of his behavior as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff but they cannot ever take away the general’s honor.”

“He is an honorable man,” Barnacle said. “He served honorably and in his highest moment of honor, outside of his commitment to the United States on the field of battle in Afghanistan and Iraq, his highest honor ought to be attributed to him: for the resignation letter that he wrote to Donald J. Trump, when Trump was in office from 2016 to 2020. Basically, General Milley, apologizing for succumbing momentarily to Donald Trump’s lust for ego and politics.”

Rounding on Hegseth he continued: “And now to see General Milley being attacked by, and I hesitate to even use the phrase the secretary of defense, Pete hegseth, someone who has no idea of what the word honor means – and he’s proven it in the past. But to come under attack from Pete Hegseth and the Trump administration is beyond outrageous. It’s obscene.”

Watch above via MSNBC.