| | | | | How Mark Milley and others in the Pentagon handled the national-security threat posed by their own Commander-in-Chief.  Photo illustration by Klawe Rzeczy; Source photographs from Getty; National Archives / Newsmakers “Throughout his Presidency, Trump had sought to redefine the role of the military in American public life,” Susan B. Glasser and Peter Baker write, in a disturbing report in this week’s issue. Excerpted from their forthcoming book, the piece examines how Trump’s fracturing relationship with his national-security officials turned into a war. - In 2017, Trump returned from a trip to Paris for Bastille Day, resolved to have American generals throw him an extravagant military parade for the Fourth of July. “I’d rather swallow acid,” his Defense Secretary at the time, James Mattis, said.
- Trump once loudly complained to his chief of staff John Kelly, saying, “You fucking generals, why can’t you be like the German generals?” “Which generals?” Kelly asked. “The German generals in World War II,” Trump responded.
- During the Black Lives Matter protests, in 2020, Trump, eager for a show of force in Lafayette Square, shouted at Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?”
Drawing on a wide range of sources, Glasser and Baker detail the standoff that grew between Trump and the Pentagon, and how Milley, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and others rushed to “land the plane” during the transfer of power to the incoming President, Joe Biden, even as they found themselves tangled in a series of increasingly confounding plots: a Sharpie-signed order to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, attacks on the 2020 election, and, near the end, the insurrection on January 6th. —Jessie Li, newsletter editor Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » | | | | Editor’s Picks | Daily Comment How Hurricanes Get Their NamesIn an age of more intense storms, forecasters explain their aims. By Rivka Galchen | | Page-Turner Why Are Only Mothers Miraculous?Emi Yagi’s “Diary of a Void” uses an office worker’s fake pregnancy to press on broad assumptions about life, vitality, and spirit, and where these qualities can be found. By Katy Waldman | | | | | Cover Story | | The artist Gayle Kabaker discusses this week’s cover, “Summer Walk,” and shares tips for getting out of a creative rut. “Something that inspires me is drawing from live models on Zoom,” Kabaker says. “Sometimes I join a larger group of artists from all over the world, or I’ll hire a model and invite a few of my artist friends to join. We all draw and chat for two hours, sharing our work during the breaks.” | | | | | | Culture Dept. |  On Television Don’t Worry, Nathan Fielder Also Hates Himself“The Rehearsal,” on HBO, is a self-portrait of a man trying to reach past his relentless solipsism. By Naomi Fry | | | | | Dept. of Sidekicks Social-Distancing Fatigue? Try a Professional CuddlerFor ninety dollars an hour, Trevor James, who is certified in the art of the snuggle and the caress, will offer any of eighty positions, amid what he calls a “touch-deprivation crisis.” By Antonia Hitchens | | | | | From the Archive |  Comment Richard Nixon, ReleasedOn this day in 1974, President Richard Nixon announced his resignation. Jonathan Schell wrote that, at that moment, the President was finally “freed, like the rest of us, from the oppression of his rule.” By Jonathan Schell | | | | | Fun & Games Dept. |  Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Liz Maynes-Aminzade |  Daily Shouts Road Signs for Your Co-Workers Piggybacking off what Carol said, maybe it would be best to avoid U-turns. I don’t know. Tom, what do you think? By Dahlia Gallin Ramirez | |  Crossword A Challenging Puzzle Tree hugger: five letters. By Wyna Liu |  Daily Cartoon Monday, August 8th By Lila Ash | | | | | | P.S. Expand your summer reading with John Cheever’s iconic short story “The Swimmer,” which chronicles a man’s afternoon of neighborhood pool-hopping. It begins: “It was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying, ‘I drank too much last night.’ ” According to Ian Crouch, “Cheever writes like a slightly demonic contributor to some suburban social register.” Read or listen to the story, and decide for yourself. | | | | Today’s newsletter was written by Jessie Li. | | | | | | | |
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