The second time, the killing of George Floyd by police officers caused damage between President Trump and the most senior leader in the US military.
Trump publicly gave no reason to the public when he suddenly fired his co-director's chairman Charles Q. Brown Jr. during the Pentagon Friday night purge. In fact, the four-star fighter pilot, with 40 years of service, was leaning towards one of the president's highest priorities when he was fired.
But personally, Trump's advisors point to a video recorded after General Brown was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, and after that, he was recorded a few furious days. In the four-minute video, General Brown reflected his experience as an African-American pilot in the Air Force.
Floyd's murder blew away the relationship between Trump and General Mark A. Millie, General Brown's predecessor.
A few days after Floyd's death, General Mee is wearing military fatigue and, after an aggressive liquidation of peaceful demonstrations, took a stroll through Lafayette Square, which crosses Lafayette Square near the White House. We took a walk around Lafayette Square near the White House. General Milly was widely criticized for allowing Trump to drag him into politics.
General Milly publicly apologised, “I wasn't supposed to be there.”
Trump was furious. “Why do you do that?” he asked General Milly, according to Trump officials at the time.
The two were already in conflict over Trump's desire to use the rebels to deploy active-duty troops to curb protesters.
Trump will never trust either person again.
The president later fires Esper (in tweet). As for General Milly, Trump had suggested he should ultimately die.
And after Trump returned to power, their portraits were removed from the pentagonal wall.
It is unclear whether General Brown will acquire his one-year and four-month portrait as co-chief president. Trump has not publicly criticized General Brown. He is about to replace him with another fighter pilot, Lt. Gen. Dan Kane.
Trump's new defense secretary, Pete Hegses, previously questioned whether General Brown was elected co-chief chairman for being black and fired to military diversity efforts on a November podcast He said it should be done.
In his 2024 book, The War on Warriors, Hegseth wrote about his promotion of general: Or his skills? We will never know, but it is always questionable – the face looks unfair to CQ, but that's not that important as he made the race card one of his biggest calling cards. ”
General Brown electrified military ranks and files on June 4, 2020, and as commander of the Pacific Air Force, he released a four-minute video.
On the streets of several cities, Black Life Matter protests were furious about Floyd's murder by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer kneeling around Floyd's neck.
General Brown later said in an interview that one of his two sons asked him. As commander of the Pacific Air Force, General Brown said he knew it was the code for “Daddy, what are you going to say?”
Against a dark background, the dark brown of a solemn general stared at the camera, staring at the camera, “Pacific Air Force commander, our senior leader in the air force, and African Americans, many of you.” I said that maybe I could do it. I wonder what I'm thinking about the current events surrounding George Floyd's tragic death,” General Brown began. “This is what I'm thinking.”
General Brown spoke harshly about his life as an African-American fighter pilot for four and a half minutes.
“I think about the emotions that I have for not only George Floyd, but for many African-Americans who were struggling with the same fate as George Floyd,” he said. “I have protests in my country, your protests, the sweet land of freedom, the equality expressed in our Declaration of Independence, the equality that I have vowed to support and defend adult life in the Constitution. I'm thinking about it.”
General Brown said, “I live in two worlds, both of which have their own unique perspectives and views.” He explained what those worlds were like for him. He and his sister were the only black kids in his elementary school, he said, and they tried to fit them. At their high school, half of the students were black and they still tried to fit.
“I'm thinking about my Air Force career, where I was often the only African American in the squadron, and as a senior officer, the only African American in the room,” he said. .
At the time, about 43% of the 1.3 million men and women active were of color, but almost everyone who made important decisions at the top were white and male. In a photo taken in October of the previous year, Trump was surrounded by portraits of his top four-star general, a sea of white-faced faces, and the otherwise diverse facility.
In his video, General Brown said: “I'm thinking of wearing the same flight suit. I wrap the same wings around my peers as my peers, and another soldier asks me, “Are you a pilot?” ”
He limited his words to his own experiences, reflecting the other worlds he lived in, the black world. “I'm thinking of being a captain in the O-club with the squadron. From other African Americans, I spent more time with the squadron than they do, so I'm well enough. It is said that it is not black.”
He spoke about how most of his leaders had no relation to his experience as a black person. He questioned whether airmen who had not had similar experiences were “whether they don't consider racism a problem, or whether they empathize because it doesn't happen to them.”
General Brown ended by talking about the weight he felt as the first African American to be appointed chief of the Air Force. Trump nominated him to that position in Esper's recommendation.
General Brown became co-director chair under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the Senate vote of 83-11. For the first time in history, the Pentagon was led by two black men, with King Lloyd J. Austin III and Biden's Secretary of Defense.
But in Trump's eyes, Trump's adviser said on Saturday that he never returned to General Brown after he made the video.
After Trump took office on January 20th, General Brown claimed that he would implement the president's legal orders, similar to his predecessor General Milly.
He was fired anyway. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the Navy, and General James Sliff, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff, urged them to think about institutional racism after Floyd's death.
“In their own words, the President and Secretary of Defense demonstrate that these leaders served the country well and faithfully performed the duties assigned by their political leaders,” said Duke University. said Peter Fever, a professor of political science. Army for decades. “The suddenness of the action leaves so many questions unhanging.”
