Of all the people CNN could have chosen to comment on Bob Woodward's anti-Trump book chock full of anonymous sources, perhaps the most perfectly partisan source was Miles Taylor, aka "Anonymous." Under that pen name, Taylor wrote the infamous New York Times op-ed, "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," which then became a whole book by "Anonymous."
First, Taylor echoed the CNN line by insisting "If you or I had a mental health issue, it would be a concern to friends or family. When it’s the Commander-in-Chief, it’s a five-alarm fire for democracy....That’s what Mark Milley saw. That’s what we saw when I was in the administration, and I think he probably was trying to take the appropriate actions to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.
Predictably, Taylor defended Milley, saying his alleged actions were "appropriate" and that Milley was "right" to be fearful about Trump potentially starting a nuclear war in order to remain in power.
There's something of the callow youth about the 33-year-old Taylor. At one point, he dropped a couple of lame alliterations, speaking of the danger that Trump's tweet would turn into an actual torpedo, or that his bombastic rhetoric would actually mean bombs.
At least Berman asked "should the top general in the United States, top military adviser to the president, be telling the Chinese general that I’m going to warn you about military action going forward?" Offering an absurd defense of Milley, Taylor claimed it's an everyday event for officials to speak with their foreign counterparts. "The bigger issue is that for some reason the president’s top military adviser was worried about us maybe going to war with China."
When's the last time a senior American military officer promised to tip off a foreign adversary about a coming attack? That doesn't happen every day.
The New Day crew did not present Taylor with Alexander Vindman, whose testimony on Ukraine helped lead to Trump's first impeachment. But Vindman now says that Milley must resign if the reports about his phone calls are true.
The appearance on CNN of Miles Taylor defending Milley's allegedly heroic measures against Trump was sponsored in part by USAA, Volvo, and Sleep Number.
Here's the transcript.
CNN
New Day
9/15/21
6:17 am EDTBRIANNA KEILAR: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley facing calls to resign following bombshell revelations in a new book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
. . .
Joining us now to talk about this is Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security.
. . .
MILES TAYLOR: The president’s own hand-picked top U.S. military adviser is saying he thinks that the President of the United States is in such a serious mental state that he’s got to take steps to protect the country. Now, John, if you or I had a mental health issue, it would be a concern to friends or family. When it’s the Commander-in-Chief, it’s a five-alarm fire for democracy.
. . .
That’s what Mark Milley saw. That’s what we saw when I was in the administration, and I think he probably was trying to take the appropriate actions to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.
JOHN BERMAN: There are all kinds of quotes in the book from senior, named, people who thought that the president was off—to put it politely—the former president, during this time, to be sure. And I'm so glad you put this in the larger context of the security of the country.
But there are those taking issue with some of the specific actions that General Milley took. Namely, phone calls with his Chinese counterpart. What General Milley told General Li, L-I, his counterpart there, was, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and that everything is going to be okay. We're not going to attack, or conduct any kinetic operations against you. General Li, you and I have known each other for five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time.
Now, should the top general in the United States, top military adviser to the president, be telling the Chinese general that I’m going to warn you about military action going forward? In and of itself, is that of concern?
. . .TAYLOR: The bigger point isn’t that Milley was calling his counterpart, which is something that happens every day in our government. They talk to their foreign counterparts to keep communication open. The bigger issue is that for some reason the president’s top military adviser was worried about us maybe going to war with China.
. . .
KEILAR: And not just Milley, right? You had top administration officials who were worried that Trump might start some kind of foreign altercation to give himself some cover for perpetuating the big lie and trying to hang on to power in the U.S.
. . .
TAYLOR: Uncertainty about whether he would just turn a tweet into an actual torpedo overnight, or that his bombastic rhetoric would actually mean bombs were being dropped
. . .
So Milley was right in being fearful in that time period.
