President Trump's demands for absolute loyalty don't seem to be panning out very well for him.
On Friday, former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer endorsed billionaire Mike Bloomberg for president, NBC News reports. He is reportedly the first of Trump's own political appointees to publicly support one of the president's opponents in the 2020 election.
Spencer was appointed in 2017, a few months into Trump's presidency, but was ousted in November over the Edward Gallagher debacle — Trump wanted to restore Gallagher's rank to Navy SEAL after he was demoted over accusations of several war crimes. Gallagher was acquitted on several charges, but was found guilty on one charge related to posing for photos with the corpse of a suspected Islamic State militant. Spencer threatened to resign over Trump's effort to reverse Gallagher's demotion, arguing he should be punished.
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.
Spencer is a lifelong Republican, and The New York Times writes his support for Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, helps Bloomberg argue he alone "can make inroads with Republican voters in the November general election."
Bloomberg launched his campaign shortly after Spencer's resignation, and at the time publicly applauded Spencer for "not flinching from his duties." Spencer will appear with Bloomberg at a Friday event in Norfolk, Virginia, home to several military bases and a large community of military veterans.
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
