Secretary of Defense Mark Esper makes major National Guard move while Donald Trump is out of town
Donald Trump is out of town today, visiting the state of Maine for no apparent reason, and facing a swath of protesters in the state. When he returns to Washington DC, he’s going to find that the Mayor has renamed a street outside the White House as “Black Lives Matter Plaza” and painted the words “BLACK LIVES MATTER” on the street. Trump is also going to find a change in the National Guard.
While Trump is out of town, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has ordered National Guard personnel in Washington DC to stop carrying guns while patrolling the streets. The Washington Post says Esper made the decision without even consulting with Donald Trump or the White House first, seemingly taking advantage of the fact that Trump and some of his team were out of town at the time.
Yesterday we saw Mark Esper order military troops in DC to go home, only to reverse himself, only to reverse himself again today, so it’s entirely possible that Esper will back down from his National Guard order. But it’s nonetheless notable that Donald Trump appears to be losing control of the military, with the Pentagon now actively working around his maniacal orders.
