VOA慢速英语2020--退役将领与特朗普的冲突

American President Donald Trump¹ has long talked about his support for the United States military. But comments this week show he might not have the full support of military leaders.

On Monday, Trump proposed using military troops to control and stop violent protests following the police killing² of George Floyd, an African American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Trump said, "If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy³ the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them."

As Trump was speaking from the White House, police officers and national guard troops began using chemical spray, smoke and sound bombs to remove peaceful protesters across the street at Lafayette Square.

After the area was cleared, Trump walked past lines of officers in riot gear on his way to St. John's Episcopal Church at Lafayette Square. Members of Trump's administration joined him, including the defense⁴ secretary and the military's chief of staff.

Trump stood in front of the religious building, which had been damaged during protests a day earlier. The president held a Christian⁵ holy book in one hand. Members of the media took pictures and videos of Trump and others with him.

Mariann Budde is the Episcopal bishop⁶ of Washington, D.C. She denounced the president's use of the bible and her church for the image. She said the image was against "the teachings of Jesus and everything that our church stands for." She said Trump's action supported "the use of tear gas by police officers in riot gear" to clear the area in front of the church.

Criticism from retired⁷ generals

Members of the U.S. military avoid making overtly⁸ political statements. Even former generals avoid criticizing a sitting president -- who serves as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

But on Tuesday, retired admiral Mike Mullen said: "The events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent." Mullen was the chairman of the Joint⁹ Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Mullen wrote in the Atlantic: "It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president's visit outside St. John's Church."

The strongest and most public criticism came Wednesday from retired General James Mattis. He is Trump's former defense secretary. Mattis said in a statement: "When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking the same oath would be ordered...to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing¹⁰ alongside."

Mattis added, "Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people...Instead he tries to divide us."

The president answered the criticism from Mattis on Twitter. Trump called Mattis "the world's most overrated General." He added that he did not like Mattis' "‘leadership' style or much else about him, and many others agree, Glad he is gone!"

Mattis was Trump's first defense secretary. He resigned in 2018 after disagreeing with the president about pulling troops out of Syria.

Current military leadership

Current Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have received criticism for joining Trump on the walk to the church on Monday.

Esper said he knew the group was going to St. John's. But he said, "I was not aware a photo op was happening." Esper also said he did not know that police had forcibly moved peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square to clear the way for Trump. The White House said the order to clear protesters came from Attorney General William Barr.

Esper also said this week that he opposed using American military troops to do the work of law enforcement. He said the Insurrection Act of 1807 should be invoked¹² "only in the most urgent...of situations." He added, "We are not in one of those situations now."

Trump's press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said the president was still willing to deploy federal troops, even after Esper's comments. "If needed, he will use it," McEnany said Wednesday.

When asked if Trump still had trust in his defense secretary, McEnany said, "As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper, and should the president lose faith we will all learn about that in the future."

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

resident - n. someone who lives in a particular place

spray - n. liquid that is forced out of a container in small drops

staff - n. a group of military officers who help the commanding officer

personnel - n. the people who work for a particular organization

accommodate - v. to do something for someone

oath - n. a formal and series promise to do something

bizarre - adj. very unusual or strange

style - n. a way of behaving or doing things

invoke¹¹ - v. to make use of a law

faith - n. strong belief or trust in someone

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 overtly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• There were some overtly erotic scenes in the film. 影片中有一些公开色情场面。
• Nietzsche rejected God's law and wrote some overtly blasphemous things. 尼采拒绝上帝的律法，并且写了一些渎神的作品。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

12 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》