Donald Trump fetes ‘my generals’ by hosting top brass for White House dinner with first lady Melania after ordering U.S. troops out of Syria
- The president honored top military personnel at a dinner at the White House
- The dinner with spouses and families followed a briefing between Donald Trump and top brass
- Trump spent Monday defending his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria
- Several Republicans even pushed back on the decision
- Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley were there, among several other generals and admirals
Trump spent Monday evening honoring top military leaders at a White House dinner after a day of defending his move to pull troops out of northern Syria.
Following a briefing with military officers and top administration officials, the group retired to the Blue Room, where the president and first lady often hosts guests for private dinners.
Among those on the guest list included Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Commandant of the Coast Guard General Karl Schultz and Commandant of the Marine Corps General David Berger.
‘We’re going to have a meeting now and then we’re going to the White House and we’re going to have dinner with the wives and the families. And we’re going to have some very interesting conversation. Things are going very well with our military. We have spent $2.5 trillion since I’ve been president, and we built our military,’ Trump began his public briefing joined by top brass.
President Trump honored top military officials and their souses and families at a White House dinner Monday night. Among those in attendance were top Generals and Admirals from every branch, including the Commandant of the Coast Guard and Marines
The dinner followed a briefing earlier in the day with top brass – which came after a day of the president defending his controversial decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Army General Mark Milley attended the briefing and dinner
Defense Secretary Mark Esper was also present – he is a retired Army lieutenant colonel
The president spent a little over two minutes making remarks on his meeting and then took questions from the press, where he then filled about seven minutes defending his move to withdraw troops from Syria, dismissing the two whistle-blowers in the Ukraine scandal and bashing Democratic leaders.
Trump spent Monday insisting his decision to take U.S. troops out of northern Syria was the right move. At the same time unconfirmed claims indicated Turkey began launching aerial attacks across the border, reportedly where Kurdish forces are based.
But Trump told reporters gathered at the White House on Monday that he spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erogdan in a phone call Sunday and told him that there would be consequences if harm comes to the dozens of remaining American servicemen and women there.
The president mainly washed his hands of the Syrian military quagmire, saying any resurgence of the ISIS terror army would no longer be America’s immediate concern.
Even those within the GOP were concerned by Trump’s seemingly brash decision.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley and GOP Senator Lindsey Graham broke with the president on this one.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney called it a ‘betrayal.’
‘The biggest lie being told by the administration [is] that ISIS is defeated,’ Graham, one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress, said on ‘Fox & Friends.’
‘The caliphate is destroyed but there are thousands of fighters over there. And no, the caliphate would not have been destroyed without the Kurds,’ he continued.
There was a lot of tension Monday – even within the Republican Party – over Trump’s military orders
Despite the tension – even within the president’s own party – the night will be filled with entertaining those making military decisions everyday, even those that don’t agree with the decision to remove troops from a volatile region.
Also those attending the dinner with their spouses and families are: Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command General Phil Davidson; Commander of United States Forces Korea, United Nations Command and Combined Forces Command General Robert Abrams; Commander of United States Africa Command General Stephen Townsend; Commander Special Operations Command General Richard Clarke; Commander of United States Southern Command Admiral Craig Faller; and Commander of United States Cyber Command General Paul Nakasone.
Also Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations; Commander of United States European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Tod Wolters; Commander of United States Transportation Command General Stephen Lyons; and Chief of Staff of the Army General James McConville.