President of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Army General Mark A. Milley, answers a question during a meeting at the Pentagon’s virtual city hall on May 28, 2020.
Chad J. McNeeley | Department of Defense
WASHINGTON – In an extraordinary letter on Tuesday, the country’s top military commanders condemned last week’s “sedition and insurrection” acts at the United States Capitol, while acknowledging Joe Biden’s victory in the elections.
The message did not mention President Donald Trump’s name, but the Board of Chiefs of Staff, led by U.S. Army General Mark Milley, made it clear that the military intends to support the constitutional transfer of power to the next government.
“As we have done throughout our history, the US military will obey legal orders from civilian leadership, support civil authorities to protect lives and property, guarantee public safety in accordance with the law and remain fully committed to protecting and defending the United States Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic “, wrote the most important military officers in the country.
“As Service Members, we must embody the Nation’s values and ideals. We support and defend the Constitution. Any act of interrupting the Constitutional process is not just against our traditions, values and oath; it’s against the law, ”the bosses wrote.
The message comes a week after thousands of supporters of the president invaded the United States Capitol, resulting in five deaths, including a Capitol police officer. The pandemonium derailed Congressional procedures to count voter votes and confirm Biden’s victory in the November 3 election.
Biden’s victory was projected by all major media outlets in mid-November and confirmed by the votes of the Electoral College in mid-December. The Republican president falsely insisted that he won in a “landslide”, claiming without foundation that his re-election was stolen through mass electoral fraud.
As protesters besieged the Capitol on Wednesday, Trump told his supporters in a tweeted video “you have to go home now”. The president hardly condemned the violence and told the crowd “we love you, you are very special”.
U.S. President Donald Trump observes after presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Celtics basketball legend Bob Cousy at the White House Oval Office in Washington, DC on August 22, 2019.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
In a nearly three-minute video posted on Thursday, the president called for national “healing and reconciliation”.
“For those who have been involved in acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And for those who broke the law, you will pay, ”said Trump, in his first speech to the nation after the violence that rocked Washington.
“Now spirits must be calmed and calm restored. We need to continue with America’s business,” added Trump.
The president also acknowledged that “a new government will be inaugurated on January 20”.
A day later, he said he would omit the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.