Army chief of staff Gen. James McConville on Sept. 8 defended military leaders, a day after President Donald Trump accused them of going to war to satisfy defense contractors.
“I’m talking about generals, I’m talking admirals, I’m talking sergeant majors, many of these leaders have sons and daughters that serve in the military, many of these leaders have sons and daughters who have gone to combat or may be in combat right now,” Trump-appointee McConville said.
“So I can assure the American people that the senior leaders would only recommend sending our troops to combat when it is required in national security and in the last resort,” he said. “We take this very, very seriously in how we make our recommendations.”
“I’m not saying the military’s in love with me,” Trump told reporters on Sept. 7. “The soldiers are, the top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the plans and make everything else stay happy.”
“But we’re getting out of endless wars,” Trump said. “Some people don’t like to come home. Some people like to continue to spend money. One cold-hearted globalist betrayal after another, that’s what it was.”
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows clarified on Sept. 7 that the president’s remarks were not aimed at “any individual general,” but at ”the military industrial complex.”
“This president is consistent about one thing: If we’re going to send our sons and daughters abroad to fight on our behalf, he’s not going to let some lobbyist here in Washington, D.C., just because they want a new defense contract, suggest that they need to stay abroad one minute longer than they should,” Meadows told Fox News.
“He’s been consistent about stopping these endless wars. He’s going to continue to fight against the special interest groups here in Washington, D.C.”
