Gen. Mark Milley (R) and Defense Secretary Mark Esper (C) in Donald Trump’s photo-opportunity walk from White House to St. John’s Church, Washington, June 1, 2020 (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty)


Gen. Mike Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apologizes for his presence in a Donald Trump photo opportunity, as peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators were tear gassed near the White House.

On June 1, Trump spoke outside the White House, threatening the deployment of the US Army against the marches following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. He then walked across the street to St. John’s Church, to hold up a Bible upside-down.

Before Trump’s stroll, Attorney General William Barr ordered law enforcement to disperse the people gathered in Lafayette Park.

Gen. Milley was pictured, in his combat fatigues, alongside Trump on the walk. He said on Thursday that he thought he was being asked to join a review of National Guard outside the White House, and knew nothing of the photo opportunity.

In a prerecorded video commencement address to National Defense University, he spoke of his “mistake”:

I should not have been there. As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it.

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Associates of General Milley said he considered resigning his position, but decided to remain.

He called on the military to address systemic racism in its ranks: people of color constitute 43% of troops but only a few senior officers.

Milley said of George Floyd’s murder and the marches:

The protests that have ensued not only speak to his killing, but also to the centuries of injustice toward African-Americans,. What we are seeing is the long shadow of our original sin in Jamestown 401 years ago, liberated by the Civil War, but not equal in the eyes of the law until 100 years later in 1965.

Military v. Trump

Milley’s statement continues a military pushback against Trump over his threats against the marches.

Two days after the June 1 incident, the JCS chairman and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, also pictured alongside Trump, distanced themselves from the event.

Milley went farther by circulating his memo to commanders of military branches, implicitly rebuking Trump:

Every member of the US military swears an oath to support and defend the Constitution and the values embedded within it. This document is founded on the essential principle that all men and women are born free and equal, and should be treated with respect and dignity.

It also gives Americans the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. We in all branches, all components, and all ranks remain committed to our national values and principles embedded in the Constitution.

A handwritten note on the memo continued, “We all committed our lives to the idea that is America. We will stay true to that oath to the American people.”

On the same day Gen. Jim Mattis, Trump’s Defense Secretary from January 2017 to January 2019, issued a statement:

Donald Trump is the first President in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.

We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.

We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society.

Trump immediately rebuked Esper after the Defense Secretary said US military would be withdrawn from the Washington DC area, and insulted Mattis on Twitter.

So far Trump has not responded to Milley’s remarks.