Retired Adm. William McRaven Calls For Trump’s Removal: ‘America Is Under Attack’

Retired Navy admiral and commander of the Osama bin Laden mission, William McCraven, wrote that President Donald Trump is threatening the values on which America stands.

In an op-ed published in the New York Times Thursday, McCraven, who commanded the raid that captured Osama bin Laden, wrote that America is being attacked from within. During two events he attended last week, a change of command ceremony in Fort Bragg and a dinner celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day and honoring the sacrifices of present-day soldiers, McCraven experienced “an underlying current of frustration, humiliation, anger and fear.”

“These men and women, of all political persuasions, have seen the assaults on our institutions: on the intelligence and law enforcement community, the State Department and the press,” McCraven wrote. “They have seen our leaders stand beside despots and strongmen, preferring their government narrative to our own. They have seen us abandon our allies and have heard the shouts of betrayal from the battlefield.”

He went on to describe a conversation he had with a retired general at Fort Bragg who told him, “I don’t like the Democrats, but Trump is destroying the Republic!”

McCraven explained that America is not powerful because of its economy and military strength, but  “because our ideals of universal freedom and equality have been backed up by our belief that we were champions of justice, the protectors of the less fortunate.”

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He then concluded by criticizing President Donald Trump for not upholding the values of freedom and justice.

“And if this president doesn’t understand their importance, if this president doesn’t demonstrate the leadership that America needs, both domestically and abroad, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office — Republican, Democrat or independent — the sooner, the better, he said. “The fate of our Republic depends upon it.

The respected admiral’s op-ed created shockwaves on social media.

Former Vice President Joe Biden tweeted the article, encouraging Americans to listen to McCraven’s opinion.

“When leaders like Admiral McCraven speak, we should listen,” Biden tweeted. “Donald Trump is a threat to our national security — his erratic, impulsive decisions make us all less safe. We cannot give him eight years in the White House.”

Former White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci praised McCraven and joined him in calling for Trump’s removal.

“Trump is currently searching high and low for something negative he can tweet about Adm. McRaven. He won’t be able to find anything because Bill is the best among us,” Scaramucci tweeted. “The fate of our Republic depends upon removing @realDonald Trump from office.”

Cass Sunstein, a Harvard professor and former administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs during the Obama administration who worked with McCraven, tweeted that McCraven was extremely non-partisan.

“I was privileged to serve with him on the Defense Innovation Board, and I never heard him utter a partisan word, not even in private,” Sunstein tweeted.