SAN FRANCISCO, November 03, (THEWILL) –Â The United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley held an off-the-record video call with top generals and news network anchors this weekend to address speculation about potential military involvement in the presidential election, according to two sources involved.
America’s top military official considered it pertinent to set up Saturday’s highly unusual call to make it abundantly clear that the military’s role is apolitical, one of the sources said and to dispel any notion of a role for the military in adjudicating a disputed election or making any decisions around removing a president from the White House.
The Chairman laid it out to the anchors that the U.S. military would have no role whatsoever in a peaceful transfer of power, another source added.
One military official asked anchors not to be alarmed if they see some uniformed National Guard on Election Day as those will not be federalised but serving at the request of State governors.
The video call appeared to be in response to public speculation about the role of the military by some activists and political leaders. Democrat flagbearer Joe Biden recently told Daily Show’s host, comedian Trevor Noah, that he was “absolutely convinced” the military would “escort [Trump] from the White House in a dispatch” if he refused to leave office.
Some of the anchors who participated in the call include ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, CBS’s Norah O’Donnell, NBC’s Lester Holt, CNN’s Jim Sciutto and Fox’s Martha MacCallum, according to one of the sources.
As part of the conversion, the Generals mentioned the military’s efforts to secure key infrastructure against cyber attacks. They also confirmed suspicions that foreign actors have actually tried to influence the election, but were confident that none appears positioned to change actual votes.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
