One of Trump's first political appointees endorses Bloomberg for president
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Are British rappers the world’s best?Podcast Plus can the Maldives quit smoking? And can whales lead us to immortality?
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A leap through the leaves, a typhoon's aftermath, and more
-
Microsoft pursues digital intelligence ‘aligned to human values’ in shift from OpenAIUNDER THE RADAR The iconic tech giant is jumping into the AI game with a bold new initiative designed to place people first in the search for digital intelligence
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
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
