Mike Pence Steers Away From Calling Trump A 'Wannabe Dictator' After Milley Speech
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Former Vice President Mike Pence avoided labeling Donald Trump a “wannabe dictator” when asked about retiring Army Gen. Mark Milley taking an apparent jab at the former president.
“I don’t know who he was referring to there, but I must tell you that Donald Trump’s recent comments regarding Gen. Milley were inexcusable,” said Pence in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Friday.
On his Truth Social platform, the former president had called the outgoing chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff “slow moving and thinking” as well as a “moron,” after Milley declared that “we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator” in a farewell speech earlier in the day.
Trump and Milley have a history of clashing, including during the former president’s time in the Oval Office.
Collins continued to press Pence over the remarks by Milley, who had emphasized that members of the armed forces “take an oath to the Constitution” rather than any one individual.
“It is very clear that he was talking about former President Trump. I mean, do you agree that Donald Trump is a wannabe dictator?” she asked.
“What I agree with is what Gen. Milley said about the oath that men and women in uniform take,” answered Pence. “I can’t affirm or comment on what or who Gen. Milley was referring to.”
Collins said that Trump himself “clearly” thought the remarks were about him, as “he responded to that after, calling Gen. Milley a moron.”
She noted that Trump’s Truth Social post also called former Defense Secretary Mark Esper a “WOKE FOOL,” and that Trump previously suggested Milley deserved to be executed for treason.
“Are those comments beyond the pale in your view?” Collins asked.
“Well, as I said, his earlier comments regarding Gen. Milley were inexcusable and really have no place in the public debate,” Pence replied.
H/T: Mediaite
