Retiring Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said he is taking “appropriate measures” to protect himself after former President Donald Trump suggested the top general is a traitor whose actions would have warranted execution in the past.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote in part, “[Milley] turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States. This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH! A war between China and the United States could have been the result of this treasonous act. To be continued!!!”
Milley said he wouldn’t comment on the specifics of Trump’s post but insisted “this military, this soldier, me, will never turn our back on that Constitution.”
“I’ll take appropriate measures to ensure my safety and the safety of my family,” Milley said, according to CBS News.
Milley previously defended the secret calls he made to China’s top general during the final months of Trump’s administration, saying they were “perfectly within the duties and responsibilities” of his job.
During secret phone calls in October 2020 and January 2021, Milley promised Chinese Gen. Li Zuocheng that he would warn the communist nation of an impending attack from the United States, according to the book “Peril” by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
Milley told The Associated Press that calls like the one to Gen. Li are “routine” and were executed “to reassure both allies and adversaries in this case in order to ensure strategic stability.”
According to “Peril,” the first phone call took place on Oct. 30, 2020, just four days before the presidential election between then-President Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The second call took place on Jan. 8, 2021, two days after the storming of the United States Capitol.
“General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay,” Milley told the People’s Liberation Army general. “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.”
“General Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time,” Milley added. “It’s not going to be a surprise.”
