Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley Jabs At ‘Wannabe Dictator’ Trump In Farewell Speech

Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. replaced Gen. Mark A. Milley on Friday and was sworn into the top military post in front of military personnel. The day was filled with ceremonial traditions and took place at Joint Base Meyer Henderson Hall in Virginia.

In Milley’s retirement speech on Friday he asserted that above all else, the job of the U.S. military is to be loyal to the Constitution. In reference to Trump, he said, “We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, to a tyrant or dictator or wannabe dictator.” He added that the troops did not risk their lives just to watch a “great experiment in democracy perish.”

President Joe Biden, accompanied by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Vice President Kamala Harris, praised the general for his reliable advice over the years, and his commitment to American democracy.

Biden stated, “When it comes to the Constitution, that is and always has been Mark’s North Star.”

Milley’s service in the military has spanned over four decades and has had a somewhat tumultuous four-year tenure at the close of his career. Milley was atop the Pentagon in the Trump Administration’s final chaotic months.

Milley often voiced his opinions on current political issues. He defended the policy implemented after the attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, which demanded military personnel to study domestic extremism. In response to Republican’s comments, he told the members of Congress, “I want to understand white rage, and I’m white.”

After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Milley received major backlash when he accompanied Trump and other top administrators to a church in front of the White House for a photo opportunity. This followed Trump’s removal of protestors from Lafayette Square, near the White House. Milley later issued a public apology and acknowledged that his appearance was a mistake.

Before Biden thanked Milley for his service and welcomed Brown into the new position, he paid tribute to the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), who died on Thursday at 90 years old. Biden said, “Dianne made her mark on everything from national security to the environment, gun safety to protecting civil liberties.”

Forty-five minutes into the multiple ceremonies, Milley swore Brown in and praised his successor as just the person to lead the military in such fraught times. The two saluted one another and shook hands with Biden, Austin and Harris.

In his speech, Brown declared it to be a “tremendous privilege” to begin his position as the 21st chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

Brown was a top officer in the Air Force for the last three years. He is the second black man to lead the Joint Chiefs. The first was Gen. Colin Powell, who served as the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993.

Brown’s nomination was approved by the Senate last week, despite Sen. Tommy Tuberville‘s (R-Alabama) extended hold on roughly 300 other senior officer promotions. Tuberville has imposed a blockade in an attempt to rescind the Biden administration’s abortion policy, which reimburses service members for their travel expenses when they are unable to obtain the procedure in the state where they reside. Biden called the blockade “outrageous.”