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As Trump hedges, U.S. military officers condemn Charlottesville rally with clarity

Michael Walsh
Reporter

Senior officers in the U.S. Armed Forces are strongly condemning the resurgent white nationalism that has shocked the country the past few days — in what many read as an implicit rebuke of their commander in chief.

President Trump has vacillated between blaming “both sides” and specifically condemning the white nationalists who organized a violent rally last weekend in Charlottesville, Va., that left one counterprotester dead. On Tuesday, Trump insisted there were some “very good people” at the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, which opposed the removal of a Confederate statue from the city.

Related slideshow: Violent clashes erupt at ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Va. >>>

“Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch,” he said at Trump Tower.

Mere hours after Trump spoke, the Marine Corps commandant, Gen. Robert B. Neller, said that racial hatred or extremism have no place in the United States Marine Corps.

Early Wednesday morning, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chief of staff of the Army, affirmed that racism, extremism and hatred are against everything his organization has stood for since the Continental Army was founded in 1775 to fight the American Revolutionary War.

Retired four-star Adm. William H. McRaven, the former commander of the United States Special Operations Command, has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump. He told Yahoo News Wednesday, “I have nothing to add to what the Commandant and the Army Chief said. Glad they spoke up!”

Gen. Robert B. Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, attends a 240th birthday celebration for the Marines in the Russell Building, Nov. 3, 2015. The actual birthday is November 10. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty)
Gen. Robert B. Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, attends a 240th birthday celebration for the Marines in the Russell Building on Nov. 3, 2015. The actual birthday is November 10. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty)

Gen. David Goldfein, chief of staff of the Air Force, released a statement Wednesday backing up his fellow service chiefs that borrowed a phrase from former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign: “Stronger together.”

Heather Wilson, the secretary of the U.S. Air Force, retweeted Goldfein’s message.

Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, the chief of the National Guard, said that he stands with his fellow joint chiefs in opposing racism and supporting diversity.

In the immediate aftermath of the violent clash on Saturday, Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, released a statement affirming that the Navy will forever oppose intolerance and hatred:

“The shameful events in Charlottesville are unacceptable and must not be tolerated.

Our thoughts and prayers go to those who were killed and injured, and to all those trying to bring peace back to the community.

The Navy will forever stand against intolerance and hatred.

For those on our team, we want our Navy to be the safest possible place–a team as strong and tough as we can be, saving violence only for our enemies.”

And it’s not just current or recent military officers who are frustrated with the president’s surprisingly restrained critique of Nazism. Americans who lived through World War II refuse allow neo-Nazis to spread bigotry unchallenged.

World War II veteran and former President George H.W. Bush released a joint statement with his son, former President George W. Bush, on Wednesday calling on Americans to reject “racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms.”

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