“WOKE” GENERALS
Throughout final yr’s presidential marketing campaign, Trump spoke of firing “woke” generals and people answerable for the troubled 2021 pullout from Afghanistan. However on Friday, the president didn’t clarify his resolution to exchange Brown.
“I need to thank Common Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our nation, together with as our present Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers. He’s a high-quality gentleman and an excellent chief, and I want an incredible future for him and his household,” Trump wrote.
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth had been skeptical of Brown earlier than taking the helm of the Pentagon with a broad agenda that features eliminating range, fairness and inclusion initiatives within the navy.
In his most up-to-date e book, Hegseth, a former Fox Information persona and navy veteran, requested whether or not Brown would have gotten the job if he weren’t Black.
“Was it due to his pores and skin color? Or his ability? We’ll by no means know, however all the time doubt – which on its face appears unfair to CQ. However since he has made the race card certainly one of his largest calling playing cards, it would not actually a lot matter,” he wrote in his 2024 e book “The Conflict on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Males Who Maintain Us Free”.
Brown, a former fighter pilot who has held instructions within the Center East and Asia, recounted experiencing discrimination within the navy in an emotional video posted on-line after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests for racial justice.
Brown was on official journey when Trump made the announcement. Hours earlier than Trump’s announcement, Brown’s official X account had posted photos of him assembly troops on the US border with Mexico, deployed in help of Trump’s crackdown on unlawful immigration.
“Border Safety has all the time been crucial to the defence of our homeland. As we navigate unprecedented safety challenges … we’ll guarantee our troops on the border have every thing they want,” Brown posted.
A spokesperson for Brown didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.