With just hours remaining in his presidency, Joe Biden used his remaining time in office to protect some of Donald Trump’s likely targets for retribution, including a presidential pardon for retired Gen. Mark Milley. In theory, the Democrat’s move to shield the decorated military leader should’ve allowed Milley to enjoy his retirement in peace.
In practice, it’s not quite working out that way.
Within hours of his presidential inauguration, Trump complained publicly about the pardon his former handpicked chairman of the joint chiefs of staff received. Soon after, the White House directed the Pentagon to take down a portrait of Milley. The next morning, the Republican president fired Milley from an advisory panel.
Each of those steps were, of course, petty and largely inconsequential. They left little doubt that the retired general was on Trump’s mind, but the moves did little more than make the president look small.
They were, however, just the initial steps from Team Trump. NBC News reported:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley that he is revoking his security detail and clearance and ordering a review of the retired general’s conduct to see whether his rank should be re-evaluated, the Pentagon said. Hegseth, whose first day at the Pentagon was Monday, directed the Defense Department’s inspector general to look into ‘the facts and circumstances’ surrounding Milley’s conduct ‘so that the Secretary may determine whether it is appropriate to reopen his military grade review determination,’ Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said.
For good measure, according to multiple published reports, the Pentagon is also taking down a different Milley portrait, recognizing him as a former chief of staff of the Army.
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s portrait marking his time as Secretary of the Army is no longer up in the Pentagon’s Army Secretary hallway. with @halbritz @OrenCNN pic.twitter.com/jiG2kCkpja
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) January 29, 2025
Biden’s pardon for Milley received some partisan pushback from assorted GOP voices, but the former president’s decision is looking increasingly responsible with each passing day.
In the not-too-distant past, Trump was content to target the retired general with juvenile taunts, calling Milley a “dumbass,” a “stupid person” and an “idiot.” But in late 2023, the Republican went much further, falsely accusing Milley of having committed a “treasonous act” in the wake of Trump’s 2020 defeat.
“[I]n times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
The underlying accusations were completely bonkers, though Milley felt the need to take “adequate safety precautions” to protect his family in the wake of the Republican’s radical offensive. It’s against this backdrop that the former television personality that Trump and Senate Republicans put in charge of the Pentagon is revoking Milley’s security detail, among other things. Obviously, the retired general has become the latest target in Team Trump’s post-inaugural revenge tour, but just as notable is the broader message to everyone else: If you anger the president, you too may find yourself facing the kind of fury that Milley is facing now. In the run-up to the 2024 elections, the former chairman of the joint chiefs reportedly told Bob Woodward that he believes Trump is “a fascist to the core.” That assessment appears unlikely to change anytime soon. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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