Rapist Felon and subhuman dirtbag Trump belongs in a prison cell until he
dies.

Once Top Advisers to Trump, They Now Call Him �Liar,� �Fascist� and �Unfit�

Many of those who served in former President Donald J. Trump�s
administration � especially his generals, ambassadors and other national
security officials � have since turned on Mr. Trump.

By Michael D. Shear and June Kim Oct. 30, 2024

Former President Donald J. Trump often brags about hiring �the best
people.� But the breadth of the criticism aimed at Mr. Trump, especially
from his own former military and national security officials, sets him
apart from any modern president.
John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who served as Mr. Trump�s chief
of staff, recently called his former boss �an authoritarian,� saying he
�admires people who are dictators � he has said that. So he certainly falls
into the general definition of fascist, for sure.�

Mark Milley, the country�s top military official during the last two years
of Mr. Trump�s presidency, privately told the journalist Bob Woodward that
Mr. Trump is a �fascist to the core� and said his pursuit of another four
years in office makes him �the most dangerous person to this country,� Mr.
Woodward revealed in a recent book.

Mr. Trump and those around him rejected the criticism as little more than
sour grapes. The former president has called General Milley a �loser� and
worse, and has suggested that the decorated military officer should be
executed for treason because of efforts to ease concerns among foreign
leaders after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol by Mr. Trump�s supporters.

But the comments from Mr. Kelly and General Milley denigrating Mr. Trump�s
capacity to serve as commander in chief are particularly striking, even as
they echo the sentiments from others across his government and many
Republicans outside of his administration.

Former generals, admirals, diplomats, intelligence officers and security
strategists have publicly or privately accused Mr. Trump of being a liar
who lacks basic knowledge about the world and represents a danger to
democracy. Members of his cabinet have questioned his loyalty to the
country and testified to his chaotic behavior. His press aides have talked
about his lack of integrity and his tendency to attack others.

And Mike Pence, his own vice president, has accused him of being reckless
and putting himself over the Constitution. And Mr. Pence said he walked
away from the agenda backed by conservatives. Mr. Pence ran against Mr.
Trump and refused to endorse him.

Only a few of the former president�s advisers have played an active role in
trying to defeat Mr. Trump�s bid for another four years in power, often
citing their belief that military and national security officials should
not meddle in partisan politics. Most have not appeared in ads or sat for
recent TV interviews. Just a handful have endorsed Mr. Trump�s opponent,
Vice President Kamala Harris.

But they have not disowned their comments about the former president and
the danger he poses if he returns to the Oval Office. In recent weeks, Ms.
Harris has begun running campaign ads citing the comments from some of the
former Trump officials as evidence that he is unfit to serve again.

Mr. Trump could regain power soon, and those who advised him the first time
have said he is �
A Threat to Democracy
Mr. Trump�s national security aides repeatedly described him as a danger to
the country and to democracy. Many cited the Jan. 6 violence and his
reaction to it as evidence of how he posed a threat to the country�s laws
and norms. Others predicted a return to the White House would damage the
country�s national security.

�Surely you can�t mean Hitler�s generals? And he said, �Yeah, yeah,
Hitler�s generals.��
John Kelly
Chief of staff, said in a recent interview, recalling when Mr. Trump
praised the loyalty shown by German generals.

�Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to
unite the American people � does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries
to divide us.�
James Mattis
Secretary of defense

�Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage if he is elected in a second
term.�
John Bolton
National security adviser

�The American people deserve to know that President Trump asked me to
put him over my oath to the Constitution, but I kept my oath and I always
will. I�m running for president in part because I think that anyone who
puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United
States.�
Mike Pence
Vice president

Ill-Informed and Incurious
Several officials have publicly questioned Mr. Trump�s intelligence,
accusing him of knowing little about history and saying they observed him
struggling to understand the complexities of the presidency. Some said he
appeared not to be interested in learning about the issues he confronted.

�Trump lacked basic knowledge of how the government runs, and his
impatience with learning about the roles of his senior officials and about
alternative models for decision-making limited his ability to lead. When
there was conflict, he avoided it or, at times, stoked it.�
Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster
National security adviser

�His understanding of global events, his understanding of global
history, his understanding of U.S. history was really limited. It�s really
hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn�t even understand the
concept for why we�re talking about this.�
Rex Tillerson
Secretary of state

�His short attention span (except on matters of personal advantage)
renders coherent foreign policy almost unattainable. The United States
missed an incalculable number of opportunities in Trump�s first term
because senior officials necessarily concentrated on keeping a few key
policies on track.�
John Bolton
National security adviser

Dishonest
Some members of Mr. Trump�s national security team accused him of lying
while he was president. Several said he fabricated stories or willingly
ignored facts. Others said they witnessed him lying about the results of
the 2020 election despite knowing the truth.

�Trump was caught in a vortex created by the interaction of those
narratives with the fragility of his ego and his deep sense of
aggrievement.�
Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster
National security adviser

�Our president must embody respect and adhere to the values that are at
the core of this country. The most important being truth. This president is
not able to do that.�
James Comey
F.B.I. director, said after Mr. Trump fired him from his job

�So many people who had access to his ear who were telling him things,
most of which were untrue, and then he began to listen to those voices and
form a view that had no basis in fact.�
Rex Tillerson
Secretary of state

Misplaced in His Loyalty
Some former aides said Mr. Trump was not loyal to his constituents because
he failed to follow a standard conservative agenda. Many questioned his
loyalty to the country after witnessing his actions after the election of
2020. Others said he proved disloyal by ignoring rules that govern how
sensitive documents are handled.

�His ego and love of self distorted his perception of the 2020
presidential election. His sense of betrayal drove him to abandon his oath
to �support and defend the Constitution,� a president�s highest
obligation.�
Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster
National security adviser

�He thought I would be loyal and obedient to him. I told him we were
loyal to our oath to the Constitution. If he told you to slit someone�s
throat, he thought you would go out and do it.�
John Kelly
White House chief of staff

�The president has very little understanding of what it means to be in
the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of
rules and practices.�
Richard Spencer
Secretary of the Navy

Disorderly and Undisciplined
National security advisers and military officials working for Mr. Trump
said he created political and diplomatic chaos while in office. Some said
they believed he enjoyed causing discord, while others said he pursued
policies that triggered strife and disagreement among global allies. Some
said he had a temper that added to the sense of chaos.

�He acts on his instincts. In some respects, that looks like
impulsiveness, but it�s not his intent to act on impulse. I think he really
is trying to act on his instincts.�
Rex Tillerson
Secretary of state

�He�s getting meaner and more offensive by the day. He�s trying to
bully me and anyone who supports me.�
Nikki Haley
U.N. ambassador, said while she was running against Mr. Trump for the
Republican nomination

�A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic
institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.�
John Kelly
White House chief of staff

A Lawbreaker
Several of his national security advisers noted that Mr. Trump faces
multiple indictments, including federal charges that he sought to overturn
the 2020 election. He has denied breaking the law in all of the cases.

�This is beyond wrong and illegal. It�s un-American. The President
undermined American democracy baselessly for months.�
Tom Bossert
Homeland security adviser, said after the assault on the Capitol on
Jan. 6

�I�ve never seen a defendant beg for it more. By attacking the judge,
attacking the jury, attacking the witnesses.�
James Comey
F.B.I. director, said when asked if Mr. Trump would be sentenced to
jail time after being convicted of falsifying business records.

�Today�s violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate
American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump.�
James Mattis
Secretary of defense

Lacking in Integrity
One common theme among the former president�s most senior military and
national security officials was what some described as a lack of integrity.
Several said he was motivated only by self-interest, rather than what was
good for the country or the government. Others commented on his ego or used
the word �unfit� to describe him.

�I think he�s unfit for office. � He puts himself before country. His
actions are all about him and not about the country.�
Mark Esper
Secretary of defense

�The facts, however, are clear that he is unfit to be President. If his
first four years were bad, a second four will be worse, dismaying many
ardent supporters.�
Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster
National security adviser

�This president is unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional
values. His leadership is transactional, ego driven, and about personal
loyalty.�
James Comey
F.B.I. director

Similar warnings about Mr. Trump have come from his other top advisers:
almost half of his cabinet, as well as his attorney general, among others.
These officials rang the alarm both during and after Mr. Trump�s presidency
� in books, interviews, essays, speeches and television appearances.

People who once worked for Mr. Trump at the highest levels now describe him
as unintelligent, chaotic, a danger to American democracy and more. What
follows is not an exhaustive list, but rather a representative collection
of criticism from Mr. Trump�s top advisers.
Filter by key word
Filter by subject
Filter by commenter's position

Danger
Dishonesty
Integrity

�I wished that Trump could separate the issue of Russian election
meddling from the legitimacy of his presidency. He could have said, �Yes,
they attacked the election. But Russia doesn�t care who wins our elections.
What they want is to pit Americans against one another and reduce our
confidence in our democratic institutions and processes.� He might also
have pointed out that those who fed the �not my president� and Russia
collusion narratives were doing Putin�s work for him. But Trump was caught
in a vortex created by the interaction of those narratives with the
fragility of his ego and his deep sense of aggrievement.�

� Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, national security adviser
Dishonesty
Integrity

�I don�t buy this stuff about him being mentally incompetent or
early stages of dementia. I don�t think he�s medically unfit to be
president. I think he�s morally unfit to be president. Our president must
embody respect and adhere to the values that are at the core of this
country. The most important being truth. This president is not able to do
that.�

� James Comey, F.B.I. director
Danger
Intelligence
Dishonesty

�He makes up what he wants to say at any given time. It�s another
demonstration of how little of American history he knows. Whatever he did
know he has disregarded.�

� John Bolton, national security adviser
Danger
Dishonesty
Crime
Integrity

�Imagine if a foreign agent, another country were to discover
documents that outline America�s vulnerabilities or the weaknesses of the
United States military. Think about how that could be exploited, how that
could be used against us in a conflict, how an enemy could develop
countermeasures, things like that. Or in the case of the most significant
piece that was raised in the allegation about U.S. plans to attack Iran,
think about how that affects our readiness, our ability to prosecute an
attack. I mean, it�s just irresponsible action that places our service
members at risk, places our nation�s security at risk. You cannot have
these documents floating around.�

� Mark Esper, secretary of defense
Dishonesty
Crime
Integrity

�If the allegations are true, and there�s lots of indications they
are, President Trump had classified documents where he shouldn�t have had
them, and then when given the opportunity to return them he chose not to do
that. � That�s inconsistent with protecting America�s soldiers, sailors,
airmen and Marines, and if the allegations are true, some of these were
pretty serious, important documents.�

� Mike Pompeo, secretary of state
Danger
Dishonesty

�We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he
shouldn�t have, and we shouldn�t have followed him, and we shouldn�t have
listened to him. And we can�t let that ever happen again. �

� Nikki Haley, U.N. ambassador
Intelligence
Dishonesty
Chaos

�I think the other challenge that I came to realize early on is
there were so many people who had access to his ear who were telling him
things, most of which were untrue, and then he began to listen to those
voices and form a view that had no basis in fact. So then you spent an
inordinate amount of time working through why that�s not true, working
through why that�s not factual, working through why that�s not the basis on
which you want to understand this, you need to set that aside, let�s talk
about what�s real. I think that was as big a challenge as anything.�

� Rex Tillerson, secretary of state
Danger
Dishonesty
Crime

�I just was not comfortable with the lies being told. And I think
that they�re insidious. I think it�s why so many people now believe the
election was stolen and it fundamentally undercut our institutions. And by
the way, he would absolutely do it again if he loses to Biden this time.
The notion that he�s going to concede is absolutely absurd.�

� Alyssa Farah Griffin, director of strategic communications
Danger
Dishonesty
Disloyalty
Crime

�It was un-American. We were watching the Capitol building get
defaced over a lie, and it was something that was really hard in that
moment to digest, knowing what I�ve been hearing down the hall and the
conversations that were happening. Seeing that tweet come up and knowing
what was happening on the Hill, and it�s something that I � it�s still � I
still struggle to work through the emotions of that.�

� Cassidy Hutchinson, aide to chief of staff
Dishonesty
Disloyalty
Crime
Integrity

�I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty � of the things
I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him. I am ashamed
that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump�s illicit acts rather
than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr.
Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.�

� Michael Cohen, personal lawyer
Danger
Dishonesty
Disloyalty
Crime
Integrity

�In September 2019, the president issued a veiled threat against an
intelligence community employee who reported the president for
inappropriately coaxing a foreign government to investigate one of his
political opponents. Trump said the employee was �close to a spy.� He
continued, �You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart,
right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently
than we do now.� The implicit suggestion was that the whistleblower should
be hanged. Such behavior is unbecoming of a president and the presidency.
To anyone with even a modest reverence for the principle of free speech, it
is also morally wrong. The nation�s chief executive should never under any
circumstances use his office and its extraordinary powers to seek revenge
against whistleblowers and political opponents. These are actions we would
expect from tin-pot dictators in repressive countries and which we would
openly decry as a nation. Yet it is happening in real time here at home,
setting a chilling precedent for the use of executive authority.�

� Miles Taylor, chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security
Danger
Dishonesty
Chaos

�I saw how Donald Trump undermined our intelligence community, our
military leaders, and ultimately, our democratic process. Now he�s doing it
again, lying and laying the groundwork to undermine this election. It�s his
M.O. � just sow doubt and division. That�s what Trump wants, because it�s
the only way he wins. And that�s what our foreign adversaries want, because
it�s the only way they win. � Being inside Trump�s White House was
terrifying, but what keeps me up at night is what will happen if he gets
back there. The guardrails are gone, the few adults in the room the first
time resigned or were fired.�

� Olivia Troye, aide to the vice president
Dishonesty
Disloyalty
Integrity

�I saw him when the cameras were off, behind closed doors. Trump
mocks his supporters. He calls them basement dwellers. He was mad that the
cameras were not watching him. He has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity
to the truth. He used to tell me, �It doesn�t matter what you say,
Stephanie � say it enough and people will believe you.� But it does matter
� what you say matters, and what you don�t say matters.�

� Stephanie Grisham, press secretary
Danger
Crime

�This is beyond wrong and illegal. It�s un-American. The president
undermined American democracy baselessly for months. As a result, he�s
culpable for this siege, and an utter disgrace. Despite of him, not because
of him, police will regain control and prosecute those involved.�

� Tom Bossert, homeland security adviser
Danger
Crime
Integrity

�I don�t know. It seems unlikely. But I�ve never seen a defendant
beg for it more. By attacking the judge, attacking the jury, attacking the
witnesses. One of the key things in assessing what sentence is appropriate,
a judge looks at, �So, are you sorry for what you did? Are you respecting
the system?� This defendant is running the other way.�

� James Comey, F.B.I. director
Danger
Disloyalty
Chaos
Crime

�Today�s violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate
American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump. His use of the
presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for
fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names
will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice.�

� James Mattis, secretary of defense
Danger
Crime
Integrity

�And yes, I do regard him as a threat to democracy, democracy as we
know it, our institutions, our political culture, all those things that
make America great and have defined us as, you know, the oldest democracy
on this planet.�

� Mark Esper, secretary of defense
Danger
Intelligence
Dishonesty
Chaos
Crime

�Obviously, we are starkly different in our styles. We did not have
a common value system. When the president would say, �Well, here�s what I
want to do, and here�s how I want to do it,� and I�d have to say to him,
�Well, Mr. President, I understand what you want to do, but you can�t do it
that way. It violates the law. It violates a treaty.� You know, he got
really frustrated. I didn�t know how to conduct my affairs with him any
other way than in a very straightforward fashion. And I think he grew tired
of me being the guy every day that told him, �You can�t do that, and let�s
talk about what we can do.��

� Rex Tillerson, secretary of state
Danger
Crime
Integrity

�I was in the vicinity of a conversation where I overheard the
president say something to the effect of, you know, 'I � I don�t effing
care that they have weapons. They�re not here to hurt me. Take that effing
mags away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here. Let
the people in. Take the effing mags away.'�

� Cassidy Hutchinson, aide to the White House chief of staff
Danger
Disloyalty
Chaos
Integrity

�President Donald Trump thrives on purposely sowing strife and
discord. I have seen it up close and in person. He does so at the expense
of the nation�s interests, the health and prosperity of our fellow
citizens, alliances forged through generations of sacrifice, and the
personal safety of public servants.�

� Josh Venable, chief of staff at the Department of Education
Chaos
Crime
Integrity

�Donald Trump, who would attack civil rights icons and professional
athletes, who would go after grieving Black widows, who would say there
were good people on both sides, who endorsed an accused child molester;
Donald Trump, and his decisions and his behavior, was harming the country.
I could no longer be a part of this madness.�

� Omarosa Manigault Newman, White House aide
Danger
Disloyalty
Integrity

�Ultimately, Trump�s deficiencies in the disciplines of perception,
action, and will produced a tragic ending to his presidency on January 6,
2021. His ego and love of self distorted his perception of the 2020
presidential election. His sense of betrayal drove him to abandon his oath
to �support and defend the Constitution,� a president�s highest
obligation.�

� Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, national security adviser
Danger
Disloyalty

�The rule of law must be vindicated regardless of the threat, which
is why public servants at all levels around the country are soldiering on
despite the torrent of individual abuse. Terrorists, gangsters and drug
lords have long been held accountable in this country even when their
organizations posed a serious risk of violence aimed at those who operate
our legal system. Fortunately, that�s not what we face today. Trump and his
legions are not coming for us. The rule of law is finally coming for him.�

� James Comey, F.B.I. director
Danger
Dishonesty
Disloyalty
Crime
Integrity

�He initially thought I would do it. He thought I would be loyal
and obedient to him. I told him we were loyal to our oath to the
Constitution. If he told you to slit someone�s throat, he thought you would
go out and do it. I would say, �It�s inappropriate, it�s illegal, it�s
against their integrity and the I.R.S. knows what it�s doing and it�s not a
good idea.��

� John Kelly, White House chief of staff
Danger
Disloyalty
Chaos

��You are losers!� the president railed. �You are all fucking
losers!� This wasn�t the first time I had heard him use this language, but
not with this much anger, and never directed at people in a room with him,
let alone toward Barr, Milley, and me. He repeated the foul insults again,
this time directing his venom at the vice president as well, who sat
quietly, stone faced, in the chair at the far end of the semicircle closest
to the Rose Garden. I never saw him yell at the vice president before, so
this really caught my attention.�

� Mark Esper, secretary of defense
Danger
Intelligence
Disloyalty

�The next day, White House counsel Pat Cipollone called me and said
the president would remain involved. Shortly thereafter, I received a
second call from Cipollone, who said the president would order me to
restore Gallagher to the rank of chief. This was a shocking and
unprecedented intervention in a low-level review. It was also a reminder
that the president has very little understanding of what it means to be in
the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of
rules and practices.�

� Richard Spencer, secretary of the Navy
Danger
Dishonesty
Disloyalty

�He is wholly unfit to be in office. When the election lies started
being shared, I couldn�t put my name to it. I couldn�t put my conscience to
it. So I resigned. But I didn�t forcefully speak out until Jan. 6th, and I
haven�t stopped since.�

� Alyssa Farah Griffin, director of strategic communications
Danger

�I think that Donald Trump is the most grave threat we will face to
our democracy in our lifetime, and potentially in American history.�

� Cassidy Hutchinson, aide to White House chief of staff
Danger
Disloyalty
Crime
Integrity

�I was stunned by violence, and was stunned by the president�s
apparent indifference to the violence. � Now was the time for the President
to be presidential. I thought he failed at doing it. I thought he failed at
a critical time to be the sort of leader that the nation needed.�

� Mick Mulvaney, acting White House chief of staff
Disloyalty
Integrity

�Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at
odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four
years. That�s why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this
campaign. As I have watched his candidacy unfold, I�ve seen him walking
away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I�ve seen him
starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life. And
this last week, his reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our
administration�s efforts to force a sale of ByteDance�s TikTok.�

� Mike Pence, vice president
Disloyalty
Chaos
Integrity

�There are bright spots that the near-ceaseless negative coverage
of the administration fails to capture: effective deregulation, historic
tax reform, a more robust military and more. But these successes have come
despite � not because of � the president�s leadership style, which is
impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.�

� Miles Taylor, chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security
Disloyalty
Integrity

�He didn�t like them telling him that things he wanted to do were
unethical or illegal. So he�d scream at them. But then he�d usually listen.
And then yell at them again later.�

� Stephanie Grisham, press secretary
Disloyalty

�He has never cared about America, its citizens, its future or
anything but himself. In fact, as history well shows from his divisive
lies, as well as from his unrestrained contempt for the rule of law and his
related crimes, his conduct and mere existence have hastened the demise of
democracy and of the nation � Our adversaries and our allies both recognize
that even his potential reelection diminishes America on the world stage
and ensures continued acceleration of the domestic decline we are currently
enduring. If that reelection actually happens, the consequences will
extinguish what, if anything, remains of the American Dream.�

� Ty Cobb, White House lawyer
Danger
Intelligence

�Trump lacked basic knowledge of how the government runs, and his
impatience with learning about the roles of his senior officials and about
alternative models for decision-making limited his ability to lead. When
there was conflict, he avoided it or, at times, stoked it.�

� Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, national security adviser
Intelligence
Dishonesty
Chaos
Integrity

�Facts are blunt instruments, and a mountain of facts demonstrates
that Trump is unfit to be president. In particular, he has no political
philosophy, and does not have �policies� as conventionally understood.
Searching for policy coherence is fruitless, since he cares almost
exclusively about his own interests, and refuses to take responsibility for
decisions he makes that go awry.�

� John Bolton, national security adviser
Danger
Intelligence

�The problem now is he is not the same person he was in 2016. He is
unhinged; he is more diminished than he was, just like Joe Biden�s more
diminished than what he was. We have to see this for what it is. This is a
fact: He is now saying things that don�t make sense.�

� Nikki Haley, U.N. ambassador
Intelligence

�His understanding of global events, his understanding of global
history, his understanding of U.S. history was really limited. It�s really
hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn�t even understand the
concept for why we�re talking about this.�

� Rex Tillerson, secretary of state
Danger
Dishonesty
Chaos
Integrity

�In no arena of American affairs has the Trump aberration been more
destructive than in national security. His short attention span (except on
matters of personal advantage) renders coherent foreign policy almost
unattainable. The United States missed an incalculable number of
opportunities in Trump�s first term because senior officials necessarily
concentrated on keeping a few key policies on track. Trump�s variability
was the only constant. Nothing in his post-presidency indicates any
prospect of more orderly decision-making ahead.�

� John Bolton, national security adviser
Chaos

�I had never met Donald Trump until the day he asked me to be
secretary of state. He acts on his instincts. In some respects, that looks
like impulsiveness, but it�s not his intent to act on impulse. I think he
really is trying to act on his instincts.�

� Rex Tillerson, secretary of state
Chaos

�He�s getting meaner and more offensive by the day. He�s trying to
bully me and anyone who supports me, he says they will be barred from MAGA
permanently.�

� Nikki Haley, U.N. ambassador
Danger
Dishonesty
Disloyalty
Integrity

�A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or
are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured
as POWs are all �suckers� because �there is nothing in it for them.� A
person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees
because �it doesn�t look good for me.� A person who demonstrated open
contempt for a Gold Star family � for all Gold Star families � on TV during
the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their
lives in America�s defense are �losers� and wouldn�t visit their graves in
France. A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the
protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical
Christians, on Jews, on working men and women. A person that has no idea
what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. A person
who cavalierly suggests that a selfless warrior who has served his country
for 40 years in peacetime and war should lose his life for treason � in
expectation that someone will take action. A person who admires autocrats
and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our
democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law. There is
nothing more that can be said. God help us.�

� John Kelly, White House chief of staff
Danger
Disloyalty
Chaos

�It is my belief that you were doing great and irreparable harm to
my country. I believe that you have made a concerted effort over time to
politicize the United States military. I thought that I could change that.
I�ve come to the realization that I cannot, and I need to step aside and
let someone else try to do that.�

� Mark Milley, chairman, joint chiefs of staff
Chaos

�There was about six months that I was there that I genuinely
bought into who Trump wants to be seen as. I genuinely had affection for
him. I knew he was chaotic, but I thought that there might be a method to
the madness. I wanted to believe in him and I started to.�

� Alyssa Farah Griffin, director of strategic communications
Chaos

�I remember hearing noise coming from down the hallway. So I poked
my head out of the office. I saw the valet walking towards our office. He
had said, �Get the chief down to the dining room. The President wants
him.� So Mark went down to the dining room, came back to the office a few
minutes later. After Mark had returned, I left the office and went down to
the dining room, and I noticed that the door was propped open and the valet
was inside the dining room changing the tablecloth off of the dining room
table. He motioned for me to come in and then pointed towards the front of
the room near the fireplace mantel and the TV, where I first noticed there
was ketchup dripping down the wall and there was a shattered porcelain
plate on the floor. The valet had articulated that the president was
extremely angry at the attorney general�s A.P. interview and had thrown his
lunch against the wall, which was causing him to have to clean up. So I
grabbed a towel and started wiping the ketchup off of the wall to help the
valet out. And he said something to the effect of, �He�s really ticked off
about this.��

� Cassidy Hutchinson, aide to White House chief of staff
Chaos

�Ultimately, the political chaos that became evident within the
Trump administration overtook the ability to get the job done.�

� David Shulkin, secretary of veterans affairs
Danger
Dishonesty
Chaos

�What happened on Capitol Hill yesterday is a direct result of his
poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the frauds. Just an
unbelievable scene at the Capitol. Frankly, the president�s actions and
words didn�t surprise me at all, but I was very, very surprised that those
people would assault the people�s house, do the damage they did and
embarrass us all.�

� John Kelly, White House chief of staff
Danger
Chaos

�[Mr. Trump] does a curt greeting to everybody, and within a few
minutes, he is on a tirade, yelling about this issue or that issue. �The
allies are ripping us off. NATO�s terrible. The U.S. military�s a third-
rate military. We can�t beat Afghanistan. How are you going be able to deal
with the Chinese?� � And this goes on for about 20 minutes, berating
everybody in the room.�

� Mark Esper, secretary of defense
Danger
Chaos
Crime

�The truth was, as reckless as the president�s tweet was, I really
didn�t have time for it. Rioters were ransacking the Capitol. � The
president had decided to be part of the problem.�

� Mike Pence, vice president
Chaos

�Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in
repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed
and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.�

� Miles Taylor, chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security
Disloyalty
Chaos

�When he liked you, when he was pleased with you, he overwhelmed
you with charm and generosity and even affection. And when something set
him off or someone else did, he�d start screaming. His temper was
terrifying. And it could be directed at anyone, whether he or she deserved
it or not.�

� Stephanie Grisham, press secretary
Danger
Integrity

�I think he�s unfit for office. � He puts himself before country.
His actions are all about him and not about the country. And then, of
course, I believe he has integrity and character issues as well.�

� Mark Esper, secretary of defense
Danger
Integrity

�The facts, however, are clear that he is unfit to be president. If
his first four years were bad, a second four will be worse, dismaying many
ardent supporters. I hope what follows is a sufficient warning to America�s
voters to help avoid our worst fears from coming true.�

� Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, national security adviser
Dishonesty
Disloyalty
Chaos
Integrity

�This president is unethical, and untethered to truth and
institutional values. His leadership is transactional, ego driven, and
about personal loyalty. We are fortunate some ethical leaders have chosen
to serve and to stay at senior levels of government, but they cannot
prevent all of the damage from the forest fire that is the Trump
presidency. Their task is to try to contain it.�

� James Comey, F.B.I. director
Danger
Integrity

�We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority
that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable
those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same
time, we must remember Lincoln�s �better angels,� and listen to them, as we
work to unite.�

� James Mattis, secretary of defense
Integrity

�You are using the military to create fear in the minds of the
people � and we are trying to protect the American people. I cannot stand
idly by and participate in that attack, verbally or otherwise, on the
American people. The American people trust their military and they trust us
to protect them against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and our military
will do just that. We will not turn our back on the American people. �
We�re all Americans. That under these colors of red, white, and blue � the
colors that my parents fought for in World War II � means something around
the world. It�s obvious to me that you don�t think of those colors the same
way I do. It�s obvious to me that you don�t hold those values dear and the
cause that I serve.�

� Gen. Mark Milley, chairman, joint chiefs of staff
Danger
Dishonesty
Disloyalty
Integrity

�If our leaders seek to conceal the truth, or we as people become
accepting of alternative realities that are no longer grounded in facts,
then we as American citizens are on a pathway to relinquishing our freedom.
� If we do not as Americans confront the crisis of ethics and integrity in
our society and among our leaders, in both public and private sector � then
American democracy as we know it is entering its twilight years.�

� Rex Tillerson, secretary of state
Danger
Integrity

�When I saw what was happening on Jan. 6 and didn�t see the
president step in and do what he could have done to turn it back or slow it
down or really address the situation, it was just obvious to me that I
couldn�t continue. � I was thinking about the kids I was there to
represent, and what they are seeing and what they are taking away from this
� it was not defensible in any way.�

� Betsy DeVos, secretary of education
Danger
Dishonesty
Crime
Integrity

�But the fact of the matter is, he is a consummate narcissist, and
he constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his political followers
at risk and the conservative and Republican agenda at risk. He will always
put his own interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else,
including the country�s interests. There�s no question about it. This is a
perfect example of that. � He�s a very petty individual who will always put
his interests ahead of the country�s, his personal gratification of his
ego, but our country can�t be a therapy session for a troubled man like
this.�

� Bill Barr, attorney general
Danger
Disloyalty
Integrity

�The counts that Donald Trump is currently facing � he is facing
counts of obstructing the Constitution � to me that is disqualifying.
Donald Trump should be disqualified from being the president of the United
States � to me that�s not a question. We have to think: What would a second
Trump term look like? Would these be the people that are running the
government, the people that are currently facing indictments? Who would
work for Donald Trump in the second term? That�s the question that we need
to be asking or asking ourselves going into this election season.�

� Cassidy Hutchinson, aide to White House chief of staff
Integrity

�The president still lacks the guiding principles needed to govern
our nation and fails to display the rudimentary qualities of leadership we
should expect of any commander in chief.�

� Miles Taylor, chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security
Danger
Disloyalty
Integrity