Defense Secretary Mark Esper disagreed with his boss, President Trump, about whether the riot conditions justified deploying troops, as Sen. Cotton recommended. Trump said "yes" while Esper said "no."
Asked if Esper still had the President's confidence, Press Secretary McEnany replied something like "he is still the Secretary." I'll make a prediction.
If Trump is reelected in November, Esper will be "exploring other career options and spending more time with his family" shortly thereafter. In other words, he will be out of the job within the year, regardless of who wins in November. I wonder if he understands this?
A real Machiavellian would say Esper believes Trump will lose big in November and is positioning himself to benefit in his next job search from having had a public rift with Trump. It's a scenario that would play on K Street.
