Mark Esper’s strained relationship with President Trump, since he balked at using active-duty troops to quell civil unrest, may result in Mr. Trump choosing a new defense secretary if he keeps the White House.
WASHINGTON — Throughout the long corridors of the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper is widely seen as a dead man walking.
There is a broad consensus that if President Trump defies the pollsand wins re-election, the president has so belittled his defense secretary, referring to him as “Yesper” and deriding him both publicly and privately, that a new defense secretary soon would be sitting in the prestigious outer ring of the Pentagon’s third floor.
Asked if he has considered firing Mr. Esper, who took over the post in July 2019, Mr. Trump told reporters at a White House news conference in August: “I consider firing everybody. At some point, that’s what happens.” Continue reading.