In his final speech as Joint Chiefs chairman Friday, Gen. Mark Milley reminded the gathered troops that they take an oath to the Constitution, not a "wannabe dictator."
Milley's remarks came during his retirement ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va., and come just a week after former President Donald Trump suggested he should be put to death.
The nation's top officer lauded the continued bravery of American soldiers during his speech and described how the oath they take to protect the Constitution encompasses "all enemies, foreign and domestic," placing emphasis on "all" and "and," Politico reports.
"We don't take an oath to a king, or a queen, or to a tyrant or dictator, and we don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator," Milley said. "We don't take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we're willing to die to protect it." He continued, "Every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, guardian and Coast Guardsman, each of us commits our very life to protect and defend that document, regardless of personal price. And we are not easily intimidated."
Though Milley didn't mention Trump by name, his impassioned comments followed Trump's social media tirade suggesting Milley's execution last Friday over reports that the general had contacted his Chinese counterpart during the Trump administration to assure them the United States would not take up arms against the nation. Despite being tight-lipped in his assessments of the former president while he was in office, as the Atlantic notes, Milley did tell "The Divider" authors he believed Trump to be "shameful" and "complicit" in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and feared Trump's "'Hitler-like' embrace of the big lie about the election would prompt the president to seek out a 'Reichstag moment.'"
