Trump Fires Back at ‘RINO,’ ‘Lightweight’ Mark Esper: ‘I Had to Run the Military Myself’
Allison Joyce/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump ripped his former Defense Secretary Mark Esper as a “RINO incapable of leading” and disputed several of the claims he has made in a forthcoming book.
In his first interview ahead of the publication of his book, A Sacred Oath, Esper reiterated to 60 Minutes his claims that Trump asked about shooting Black Lives Matter protesters and using missiles to destroy drug labs in Mexico.
The show sought comment from Trump, who retorted that it was a “complete lie” that he wanted to shoot protesters in the legs and described cabinet members as “fucking losers,” claiming there were “10 witnesses” who could back him up.
“Mark Esper was weak and totally ineffective, and because of it, I had to run the military,” Trump said in a statement shared by 60 Minutes. “I took out ISIS, Qasem Soleimani, [Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi, rebuilt the military with $2.5 trillion, created Space Force, and so much more.”
“Mark Esper was a stiff who was desperate not to lose his job,” added Trump. “He was a lightweight and a figurehead, and I realized it very early on.”
When asked for comment on this interview, the office of former President Donald Trump provided the following statement to 60 Minutes. https://t.co/QBrwHL2cR2 pic.twitter.com/MZUCrfxgha
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 8, 2022
In his response to the show, Trump also disputed claims that he wanted to send 10,000 active duty troops into Washington, D.C. after St. John’s Church was set on fire and that he allegedly mistakenly believed his Insurrection Act authority was taken away by Esper.
Asked to confirm why he fired Esper, Trump said that Esper “was a RINO incapable of leading, and I had to run the military myself.”
On 60 Minutes‘ final question — whether Trump did, in fact, contemplate attacking drug cartels in Mexico with missiles — the former president replied simply, “No comment.”
