Retiring Gen. Mark Milley Hits Trump: ‘We Don’t Take An Oath To A Wannabe Dictator’

Retiring chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley took a thinly veiled shot at Donald Trump Friday after the former president threatened the top U.S. general.

“We don't take an oath to a king, or queen, or tyrant, or dictator,” Milley said at a ceremony marking his retirement. “We don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator. We don't take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we're willing to die to protect it.”

Milley, who served as the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump, has had a tense relationship with the former president. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social last week that Milley’s call to China after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”

Milley said he would take “appropriate measures” to ensure his family’s safety.

Before Milley’s remarks, President Joe Biden praised the general for his tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“As commander-in-chief, I relied on Mark’s counsel, because I know he always gives it to me straight no matter what,” Biden said of Milley. “He always gives it to me straight. He's working with the best information possible, and he doesn't hold anything back.”

“Mark your partnership has been invaluable to me,” the president added.

Retiring Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, Army General Mark Milley, speaks at the Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in his honor at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, on September 29, 2023. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

During his tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a position he held from Oct. 2019, Milley has helped Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion of the country, but also led a chaotic pullout of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Biden also praised the confirmation of Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., who will serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Without saying his name, Biden criticized Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for holding up more than 300 military confirmations and promotions.

“It impacts everything from readiness to morale to retention. It's an insult, an insult to the officers' years of dedicated service,” Biden said. “Our troops deserve so much better.”