Gen. Mark Milley Warns of Fealty to Dictators, in Exit Speech Aimed at Trump [View all]

Source: Wall Street Journal

Army Gen. Mark Milley, the Pentagon's top officer, warned in his retirement speech on Friday that military officers must adhere to the Constitution and not bow to political pressures, in what appeared to be thinly-veiled comments about former President Donald Trump.

"We don't take an oath to a country, we don't take an oath to a tribe, we don't take an oath to a religion, we don't take an oath to a king, or a queen, to a tyrant or dictator or wannabe dictator," Gen. Milley bellowed across a military parade field, without mentioning his former boss by name.

"We do not take an oath to an individual, we take an oath to the Constitution, to the idea that is America and we're willing to die to protect it."

Friday's speech was Milley's last official ceremony as the Joint Chiefs chairman after years of positioning himself as a defender of democracy -- and drawing the ire of critics who have accused him of overstepping the authority of the commander in chief and pursuing what they perceive as a progressive agenda.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/gen-mark-milley-warns-of-fealty-to-dictators-in-exit-speech-aimed-at-trump/ar-AA1hsA6h

Trump and others on the political hard right have repeatedly attacked Gen. Mark Milley, pushing up against norms for public behavior for politicians and elected officials in the process.