New book says Joint Chiefs chairman worried Trump would attempt a coup


In the days after the November presidential election, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley was concerned about what Donald Trump might do in order to stay in power, and discussed with other leaders how to block Trump should he order the military to do something dangerous or illegal, according to the new book I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year.
The book, out next Tuesday, is by Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker. They interviewed more than 140 people for I Alone Can Fix It, including senior Trump administration officials and advisers.
Leonnig and Rucker write that Milley, the highest-ranking military officer in the United States, would listen to Trump rant and rave, falsely claiming that the election was rigged, and it left him with a "stomach-churning" feeling. At one point, Milley told aides, "This is a Reichstag moment, the gospel of the Führer," referring to the 1933 attack on Germany's parliament building, which Adolf Hitler used to establish the Nazi dictatorship.
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.
Just days after the election, on Nov. 10, a worried Milley called former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster to see if he believed a coup was close at hand, asking, "What the f—k am I dealing with?" He knew there were Trump allies installed in the Department of Defense, CIA, and FBI, and the book says that Milley told his close deputies that they might try to sway those agencies, "but they're not going to f—king succeed."
Milley was contacted by several lawmakers and even administration officials who were worried about Trump using the military to stay in office, and he reassured them that "we're going to land this plane safely." One phone call came from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the book says, who shared that she was worried "maniac" Trump would use a nuclear weapon. "Ma'am, I guarantee you that we have checks and balances in the system," Milley responded.
After the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Milley made it clear during logistical meetings to discuss President Biden's inauguration that they would "put a ring of steel around this city and the Nazis aren't getting in," Leonnig and Rucker write, and when he was finally at the event, sitting behind the Obamas, Milley was able to relax. Former first lady Michelle Obama asked Milley how he was feeling, and he replied, "No one has a bigger smile today than I do. You can't see it under my mask, but I do."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Spending is what card issuers are hoping you will do'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
A potential railway megamerger raises monopoly questions
The Explainer Union-Pacific and Norfolk Southern would create the country's largest railway operator
-
'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
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Deportations: The growing backlash
Feature New poll numbers show declining support for Trump's deportation crackdown
-
Is Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' cancellation an omen of something worse?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION CBS said its decision to end the talk show was strictly business. But the timing and nature of the announcement has some observers wondering if there's more at play behind the scenes.
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said