Mark Esper: a sacred oath
Mark Esper has a new book out.
Nope!
I haven’t read it.
Nor will I.
I already know the juiciest parts.
I’ve paid close attention to a number of Mr. Esper’s seemingly endless appearances on national TV to hawk his new tome.
He’s getting pretty good at it, too.
He emphatically answers the nagging question, “Why are you saying this stuff in a book, instead of saying it at the time?” – with the matter-of-factness of a fellow whose public esteem is held firmly within his grasp – “Because I served the country – not Trump.”
Good answer.
Besides, if he’d revealed the would-be shenanigans of our shenanigan-prone president at the time, Esper might’ve been relegated to the ash heap of post-Trumpia and been replaced by somebody as shenanigan-prone as Mr. Trump.
Esper’s replacement may have given a thumbs-up to nuking Disneyland.
Therefore, Esper sees himself as some sort of historical shock absorber.
The full title of his book is, “A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times.”
It’s a 752-page look inside the Trump administration through the eyes of a man who happened to be Uniontown’s second U.S. Secretary of Defense. (Of course, George C. Marshall was the first.)
Mr. Esper certainly isn’t the only former Trump-insider to fill the pages of books that reveal the sometimes-questionable exploits of Mr. Trump.
Here’s part of the list of other folks who’ve done that: John Bolton, Chris Christie, Omarosa Manigault Newman, Michael Cohen, Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephanie Grisham, and even Anthony Scaramucci have each offered their takes on their times in and around Donald Trump.
Some, like Sarah Huckabee Sanders, have written glowing tales about being close to Trump.
Others, though, like John Bolton and Michael Cohen wrote that they were dismayed by being in Trump’s sphere.
Esper’s book apparently reveals the straight-up unsuitability of Trump for the presidency.
He claims he witnessed some radical behavior that was well worth retelling on news shows while he does publicity for his book.
According to Esper, Trump was a thinker.
By that I mean, he had some thoughts from time to time.
Not always great thoughts.
Just some thoughts.
Believe me, I have thoughts myself on occasion.
Unlike Trump, I’ve never thought it would be a good idea to fire missiles at drug labs in Mexico.
Nor apparently, did it cross Esper’s mind, until he heard the president say it. Then, he was even more dismayed by his offering to cover up the bombings with the words, “No one would know it was us.”
Then, during the height of those protests over the police murder of George Floyd in 2020, Trump thought it might be a good idea if the military could shoot at some of the protesters – perhaps just hit them in the leg.
Esper wasn’t on board with that. Who would be? It was a frighteningly dumb idea.
There was also that bizarre episode when Trump led an entourage to that church near the White House, then held up that Bible for a photo-op.
Esper claims he had no idea there would be such a spectacle when he marched with others from the White House to the church.
That he was caught off-guard when Trump had the members of the administration who accompanied him stand while he cheesed for cameras.
Esper now says he didn’t vote for Trump (nor did he vote for Biden), and that he won’t vote for Trump if he runs for the presidency in 2024.
He says he believes Trump is a “threat to our Democracy,” as if most Americans didn’t already know that.
Trump has responded and, of course, with predictability.
He’s calling Esper a lightweight.
Democrats and even many Republicans have grown weary of Trump’s grandstanding in the name of good governance for years.
I’m glad to see that Mr. Esper has finally added his two cents.
It’s never too late to admit a mistake.
However, it may be too late to reclaim the fullness of his esteem.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 40-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.