OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
There are multiple crises happening in the United States. Inflation is at historical highs, there’s an unprecedented surge in migrants at America’s southern border, and the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan.
And Joe Biden is leaving the White House and will spend the long weekend at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Below is a screenshot of the official White House schedule for Friday:
Biden is also dealing with a major scandal this week involving General Mark Milley.
While speaking to reporters from the White House, Biden was asked about the explosive new book that alleges that General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held secret meetings behind Donald Trump’s back and even secretly told leaders not to take military strike or nuclear orders from Trump days after the Jan. 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol.
Biden made it clear that he’s standing by Milley and did not make any mention of him resigning.
“Sir, did General Milley do the right thing, sir? Did General Milley do the right thing?” a reporter asked.
Biden replied: “I have great confidence in General Milley.”
WATCH:
BIDEN: "I have great confidence in General Milley"
pic.twitter.com/0CBH40W5EQ— Martin Walsh (@RealWalsh_) September 17, 2021
Two days after the January 6 incident at the Capitol, Milley took an extraordinary step. He took secret action to talk to military leaders and told them not to take military strikes or nuclear orders from Trump, CNN reported.
Milley was “was certain that Trump had gone into a serious mental decline in the aftermath of the election, with Trump now all but manic, screaming at officials and constructing his own alternate reality about endless election conspiracies,” Woodward and Costa said in the book “Peril.”
“You never know what a president’s trigger point is,” Milley said to his senior staff, worried that Trump could “go rogue,” the book said.
Milley then called a meeting in secret on January 8 to examine the process for military action which included the launching of nuclear weapons.
He told the military officials in charge of the National Military Command Center that they were not to take orders from anyone unless he was involved.
During an interview Tuesday night on Newsmax, Trump tore into Milley and even spoke about a report that alleged Milley contacted his Chinese counterpart to inform him that if Trump ordered an attack, he would warn China in advance.
“General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay. We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you,” Milley allegedly said. “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. It’s not going to be a surprise.”
Speaking on Newsmax, Trump was asked about extracts from a new book, “Peril,” by veteran reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
“If it is actually true, which is hard to believe that he would have called China and done these things and was willing to advise them of an attack or in advance of an attack… that’s treason,” said Trump.
