#Gen. Milley almost resigned after Trump church photo op, report says

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Gen. Mark Milley, right, accompanies Trump as he departs the White House to visit outside St. John’s Church, in Washington.
AP

WASHINGTON — Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley considered resigning last week amid criticism over his role in President Trump’s photo op at a historic church outside the White House, according to a new report.

The Pentagon’s top general spent hours poring over news articles and social media posts condemning his actions and called confidantes to discuss whether he should resign for taking part in the walk through Lafayette Square moments after authorities forcefully cleared protesters, according to an NBC News report.

Milley also fielded days of angry phone calls from disappointed Democrats in the House of Representatives and on the Armed Services Committee, with some lawmakers even yelling at him, the report said.

The top Army general released a video apologizing on Thursday, saying it was a “mistake” to appear in his combat fatigues and walk through the park with the president, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other officials to pose outside St. John’s Episcopal Church.

“My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics,” Milley said in his first statements since the June 1 incident.

But according to sources who spoke to NBC News, the general did not know he was going to the church and had been dressed in his combat fatigues in preparation to spend the afternoon at the FBI’s Field Office, the control hub for the protest response, before he was suddenly called to the White House for Trump’s Rose Garden address.

Meanwhile, Milley was opposed to the president’s desire to mobilize the military to quell unrest following the death of George Floyd and in a fiery Oval Office meeting, reportedly shook his fists to emphasize why the idea was so dangerous.

Also at the meeting was Defense Secretary Mark Esper who joined him in pushing back on the idea.

Like Milley, Esper has sought to distance himself from the photo op scandal — telling reporters last week that he had no idea the group of officials were going to pose outside the church which was damaged in violent protests.

Trump was reportedly furious with Esper for not backing his decision to use US troops to thwart the unrest and considered firing him before officials convinced him to shelve the idea.