Donald Trump ‘erupted’ when Defense Secretary Mark Esper effectively banned Confederate flag from military bases despite White House railing against plans to strip rebel leaders’ names from forts
President Donald Trump ‘erupted’ last week after Defense Secretary Mark Esper banned the display of the Confederate flag on military installations.
CNN reported Friday that Trump was fuming over Esper’s decision, as the president has made the preservation of Confederate monuments and military base names part of his re-election narrative.
Esper’s flag guidance was issued one week ago and doesn’t reference the Confederate flag by name – but instead omits it from approved symbols.
President Trump reportedly ‘erupted’ when he heard Defense Department Secretary Mark Esper effectively banned the Confederate flag from military bases
CNN’s report said sources the network talked to believe Esper’s job is safe for now – mostly because Trump doesn’t want to dismiss the Pentagon chief so close to the 2020 election.
The White House knocked down the reporting when CNN asked for comment.
‘Your story is inaccurate. When the matter was raised to the president, he was not angry,’ a spokesperson said.
Trump, has, however continued to push for preservation of the flag, bases named after Confederate figures and statues of Confederate generals.
He leaned into this position in the aftermath of the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man, at the hands of a white police officer.
Floyd’s death led to large ‘Black Lives Matter’ demonstrations around the country and the world.
Trump said last Friday in an interview with Chris Wallace that he’s not offended by the Confederate flag, used to symbolize the south in the Civil War, which seceded from the union to preserve slavery.
‘When people proudly hang their Confederate flags, they’re not talking about racism. They love their flag, it represents the South,’ Trump said.
Early Friday morning, Trump tweeted that he had been assured by Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe that the 10 bases still named for Confederates would remain so.
‘I spoke to highly respected (Chairman) Senator Jim Inhofe, who has informed me that he WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places from which we won two World Wars (and more!). Like me, Jim is not a believer in “Cancel Culture,”‘ Trump tweeted.
The only problem was a day before both the House and Senate voted – in a veto-proof manner – on a Defense bill that included the provision.
The only way Inhofe could change the bill would be to try to strip the provision out during the Conference Committee sessions, which likely wouldn’t be popular.