Thread by @pleasesaveour

“All these countries need to start paying us for the troops we are sending to their countries. We need to be making a profit,” Trump said. “We could turn a profit on this.”

Dunford tried to explain to the president once again,

washingtonpost.com/politics/youre…

gently that troops deployed in these regions provided stability there which helped make America safer. Another officer chimed in that charging other countries for U.S. soldiers would be against the law

“But it just wasn’t working” one former Trump aide recalled. “Nothing worked”

“We need to get our money back,” Trump said

That was it. Tillerson stood up. But when he did so, he turned his back to Trump and faced the flag officers and the rest of the aides in the room. He didn’t want a repeat of the scene in the Tank.

“I’ve never put on a uniform, but I

know this,” Tillerson said. “Every person who has put on a uniform, the people in this room, they don’t do it to make a buck. They did it for their country, to protect us. I want everyone to be clear about how much we as a country value their service.”

“You took the body blows for us,” Dunford said. “Punch after punch. Thank you. I will never forget it.” Why didn't this General take the punch??

Tillerson, Dunford, and Mattis would not take those body blows for much longer. They failed to rein in Trump’s impulses or to break

through what they regarded as the president’s stubborn, even dangerous insistence that he knew best. Piece by piece, the guardrails that had hemmed in the chaos of Trump’s presidency crumpled.