For all the well-deserved attention on the stories leaked from the new book Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, as much as the ones about General Mark Milley dealing with China to protect the country against Trump were the most critical, what struck me most was the exchange Milley had with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. “He’s crazy. You know he’s crazy,” said Speaker Pelosi. “He’s crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness.” To which Gen. Milley replied, “I agree with you on everything.” What leaps out as so important to me about that is it’s the foundation for Milley’s later actions. And it’s as blunt as you can get, coming as it does in a private conversation. No polite expression in public to dance around an awkward sensibility. No, just flat out -- “He’s crazy. You know he’s crazy. He’s crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness.” Clearly, too, this is not meant euphemistically, nor hyperbolically. But literally. Now, of course, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and General Mark Milley are not licensed psychologists, so it’s just amateur analysis. But it’s amateur only from a psychological standpoint – they’re expressing very professional observations from the long high-ranking experience in their jobs in Congress and in the military. Further, one has to keep in mind that both Pelosi and Milley have dealt with Trump in ways that we’ve never seen – in private, behind closed doors. Where any protective guards that Trump might work hard to put up in public are let down so he can be himself. And he was crazy enough in public. One can only imagine the depths of his mania, especially hearing the Speaker and General. Two other things about the exchange stand out for me. The first is that neither General Milley nor Speaker Pelosi have denied the conversation, or even anything about it. So, yes, everybody, yes, I called him crazy. You know he’s crazy. He’s crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness. And yes, I agreed with her on everything. It’s one thing for Nancy Pelosi to be fine with acknowledging the full exchange – we pretty much know her sense of Trump from her many public statements, even if they weren’t this blunt. But for a general in the army and White House Chief of Staff, who’s spent most of his public life being as taciturn as possible, his confirmation is noteworthy. And the other thing that leaps out to me is how on earth did Woodward and Costa get that exchange – and get it word-for-word right. I have no idea, but why that’s important is that when reporters gets something that private and newsworthy, it gives credence to all of their work All the more so since General Milley has confirmed all their other stories about him, Trump and China. Peril, indeed. And thankfully we got passed that. And how wonderful that it’s on the record, for whatever is to come from Trump. But again, as always, this is not about Trump – we know who he is, and that’s he’s crazy. As do Republicans in Congress, especially Republicans leaders. This is about the Republican Party who enabled the crazy Trump and supported him and his crazy fascism for four years, and still do. Knowing that he’s crazy.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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