BREAKING: Trump Fires SecDef Esper
Trump has just fired Esper. By tweet, of course.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2020
The media is starting to pick up this story:
Guardian: Donald Trump fires defense secretary Mark Esper – US politics live
The firing of defense secretary Mark Esper seems to be an effort by Donald Trump to emphasize his presidential powers, as president-elect Joe Biden launches his transition.
In the days before the election, reports indicated Trump was considering firing senior officials he had previously criticized.
In addition to Esper, FBI Director Christopher Wray is considered vulnerable to a lame-duck firing.
The Palmer Report has a good, if short, analysis: Trump administration in full collapse as Donald Trump fires Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
Can you really “terminate” a guy who was already trying to resign? In any case, this isn’t part of some secret evil genius plan on Donald Trump’s part to magically win. Things are just unraveling.
After Joe Biden was declared the winner on Saturday morning, Palmer Report predicted that by the end of the weekend, Trump would probably start firing his own people in frustration. It looks like we were off a bit; it took until today for Trump to start doing that. No one will miss Esper – but who else will Trump fire next? He’s clearly unraveling.
The problem is, he’s unraveling us with him. He clearly wants to leave Biden — and the American people — without a functioning executive.
This is Trump at his most vicious and petty. It is the equivalent of a 5-year-old taking the ball and going home because the other kids won’t let him change the rules. Except that this “ball” is our country.
