Trump Says Reports of Milley Contacting Chinese General Would Amount to 'Treason' if True
04:14 GMT 15.09.2021 (Updated: 13:24 GMT 06.08.2022)
© REUTERS / CARLOS BARRIA / FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President Trump pictured at the White House in 2020
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New excerpts from "Peril", an upcoming book by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, alleged that US Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reassured his Chinese counterpart on two occasions that the US government was stable and then-US President Donald Trump would not wage an attack on China.
The 45th president of the US took time on Tuesday to address recent reports that Milley, the seniormost officer of the US Armed Forces, conferred with China on two separate occasions regarding the possibility of a US attack.
"So, first of all, if it is actually true, which is hard to believe, that he would have called China and done these things and was willing to advise them of an attack or in advance of an attack -- that's treason", Trump asserted to "Spicer & Co." host Sean Spicer during a Tuesday Newsmax broadcast.
Former President Donald Trump reacts to new reports about General Mark Milley: "If it is actually true...that's treason." https://t.co/VlT7z8drtO pic.twitter.com/1PY0ZjrmHW
— Newsmax (@newsmax) September 14, 2021
"I've had so many calls today saying that's treason", he added.
The calls reportedly took place on 30 October 2020 - prior to the 2020 presidential election - and on 8 January, just two days after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building to contest the Electoral College results of the election.
The former US president went on to argue that Milley is simply trying to distract from the botched US-led pullout and evacuation of both troops and civilians from Afghanistan.
He also clarified that such an act was not even up for consideration by his administration, despite his tough stance toward China.
"For the record, I never even thought of attacking China—and China knows that", Trump asserted.
"The people that fabricated the story are sick and demented, and the people who print it are just as bad. In fact, I’m the only president in decades who didn't get the US into a war—a well known fact that is seldom reported".
