According to two people familiar with his reaction, Trump was furious at Esper’s carefully worded memo that did not mention the flag by name, but which effectively prohibited it from flying in military installations by not naming it.
Trump has refused to denounce the Confederate flag in recent weeks, and instead has said that those who see it as a source of pride should be able to continue flying.
Two separate people who have spoken to the president in the following days said they believe Esper’s job remains safe for now, although the relationship between the two has deteriorated significantly in recent months.
When asked to comment, a senior White House official who declined to be named said, “His story is inaccurate. When the matter was raised with the President, he was not angry.”
Several sources said this relationship could become even more strained in the coming months, although Trump is hesitant to fire another defense secretary so close to the November election.
Change base names
Inhofe now promises to maintain provisions to remove Confederate names from the military bases of the final National Defense Authorization Act, though it is unclear how this could be done after both houses of Congress approved similar efforts to get rid of the names with a veto. test majorities this week. Inhofe, who voted on the bill in the Senate, will be one of the top four negotiators on the conference committee to draft the final bill.
Division with Esper
The areas of division between Trump and Esper are innumerable. In addition to the de facto ban on the Confederate flag, Esper approved the promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman even after the White House attempted to have his name removed from the promotion list in retribution for his testimony before Congress on Ukraine, he confirmed. a defense official with confirmed direct knowledge. to CNN.
The last time Esper spoke to Pentagon reporters on June 3, he noted that he did not support invoking the Insurrection Act that could have put troops on active duty in the streets during the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police. Trump had threatened to send troops on active duty, and Esper’s statement angered the White House. Nothing that has happened since has made either side feel better.
And Esper is still pushing for a Pentagon overhaul to counter the threats posed by China and Russia, which he calls “our main strategic competitors.” But the White House shows no interest in confronting Russia, dismissing reports of Russian financial support for the Taliban to kill US forces, even when two US military commanders said they were still investigating everything.
There may not be a bigger clue to the tensions at stake than what Esper is not saying. When he recorded a 10-minute video for the troops heavily promoting his accomplishments and thanking the force, he did not mention the commander-in-chief even once.
This story has been updated with comments from a senior White House official and Senator Jim Inhofe’s comments to a local media outlet.
CNN’s Barbara Starr and Haley Byrd contributed to this report.
.
