Trump wanted to 'quietly' bomb Mexico, seriously, ex-Defense Secretary Mark Esper recounts

In the summer of 2020, unhappy about the flow of drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border, then-President Donald Trump asked his defense secretary, Mark Esper, if the U.S. military could "shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs," Esper writes in his forthcoming memoir of working in the Trump administration. Trump made this request at least twice, and after Esper pushed back with several objections, Trump suggested "we could just shoot some Patriot missiles and take out the labs, quietly," and "no one would know it was us," Esper writes in A Sacred Oath, The New York Times reports.
Esper writes "he would have thought it was a joke had he not been staring Mr. Trump in the face," the Times reports.
While straining to be fair to Trump and giving him any credit he deserves, "Esper paints a portrait of someone not in control of his emotions or his thought process throughout 2020," especially after his first impeachment trial, the Times reports. He also "singles out officials whom he considered erratic or dangerous influences" on Trump, and adviser Stephen Miller is "near the top of the list."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In an interview with CBS News' Norah O'Donnell set to air Sunday night, Esper says he was "flabbergasted" by Miller's suggestion to send 250,000 U.S. troops to the Mexico border. "I think he's joking," Esper recounts. "And then I turn around, and I look at him in these deadpan eyes. It's clear that he is not joking."
In his book, Esper writes that he told Miller, "The U.S. armed forces don't have 250,000 troops to send to the border for such nonsense," the Times reports. Esper also recounts how Miller suggested, after U.S. special forces killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, that the U.S. cut of al-Baghdadi's head and dip in in pig's blood as a warning to other Islamist terrorists. Esper told Miller that would be a "war crime," he writes. Miller denied the episode and told the Times that Esper is "a moron."
But Esper's main concern is Trump, and he ran his manuscript by more than two dozen four-star generals plus Cabinet ministers and others to make sure his book is accurate and fair. Trump, he tells the Times, "is an unprincipled person who, given his self-interest, should not be in the position of public service."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The Pentagon's missing missiles
Feature The U.S. military is low on weapons. Can it restock before a major conflict breaks out?
-
Rescissions: Trump's push to control federal spending
Feature The GOP passed a bill to reduce funding for PBS, NPR and other public media stations
-
Knives come out for Pam Bondi
IN THE SPOTLIGHT She wasn't Trump's first pick to lead the Justice Department. After months of scandals and setbacks, is the attorney general's MAGA shelf life winding down?
-
ICE builds detention camps and ramps up arrests
Feature The Trump administration's deportation efforts continue
-
Can Gaza aid drops work?
Today's Big Question UN's Palestinian refugee agency calls plan a 'distraction and smokescreen' as pressure mounts on Israel to agree ceasefire and fully open land crossings
-
'Spending is what card issuers are hoping you will do'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests