It’s a moment he’s spoken of before, but on Tuesday President Trump told his Cabinet and reporters in attendance about the moment he knew his Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during his first term, former Gen. Mark Milley, was a blithering idiot.
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It happened as the administration was reducing our presence in Afghanistan, an operation that Joe Biden later took over when he came into office and disastrously screwed up. Tragically, 13 U.S. servicemembers and hundreds of Afghanis lost their lives in the chaotic August 2021 withdrawal.
But before that, Milley advised Trump to leave billions behind in equipment as we began to get our forces out of the country. Trump was incredulous, as he recounted to the Cabinet:
Milley said, I remember one time, “Sir, we’re better off leaving the equipment.”
“Why?”
“Well It’s cheaper.”
I said, “Cheaper? You mean, it’s cheaper to leave a $150 million airplane, rather