Book claims US military chief feared Trump could order China strike

15 September 2021, 03:44

Former President Donald Trump waves at a boxing promotion in Florida on Saturday
Trump Boxing. Picture: PA

General Mark Milley twice rang his Chinese counterpart to reassure him during the final weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency.

The United States’ top military officer twice called his Chinese counterpart to assure him the two nations would not suddenly go to war in the last weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, a senior defence official has said after the conversations were described in excerpts from a forthcoming book.

Fearful of Mr Trump’s actions in the final stages of his administration, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Mark Milley, told China’s General Li Zuocheng the US would not strike.

One call took place on October 30, four days before the election that defeated Mr Trump. The second call was on January 8, two days after the insurrection at the US Capitol by supporters of the outgoing president.

Trump Book
Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Mark Milley (Susan Walsh/AP)

Mr Trump said Mr Milley should be tried for treason if the report was true.

Mr Milley went so far as to promise Mr Li that he would warn his counterpart in the event of a US attack, according to the book Peril, written by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

“General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay,” Mr Milley told him in the first call, according to the book. “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.”

“If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise,” Mr Milley reportedly said.

According to the defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Mr Milley’s message to Mr Li on both occasions was one of reassurance. The official questioned suggestions Mr Milley told Mr Li he would call him first, and instead said the chairman made the point that the US was not going to suddenly attack China without any warning — whether it be through diplomatic, administrative or military channels.

I assume he would be tried for TREASON in that he would have been dealing with his Chinese counterpart behind the President’s back...

Donald Trump on Mark Milley

Mr Milley also spoke with a number of other defence chiefs around the world in the days after the January 6 riot, including military leaders from the UK, Russia and Pakistan. A readout of those calls in January referred to “several” other counterparts he spoke to with similar messages of reassurance that the US government was strong and in control.

The second call was meant to placate Chinese fears about the events of January 6. But the book reports Gen Li was not as easily assuaged, even after Mr Milley promised him: “We are 100 percent steady. Everything’s fine. But democracy can be sloppy sometimes.”

Mr Trump responded on Tuesday with a sharply worded statement dismissing Mr Milley as a “dumbass”, and insisting he never considered attacking China.

Still, he said that if the report was true, “I assume he would be tried for TREASON in that he would have been dealing with his Chinese counterpart behind the President’s back and telling China that he would be giving them notification ‘of an attack’. Can’t do that!”

“Actions should be taken immediately against Milley,” Mr Trump said.

Capitol Breach Records Explainer
Rioters climb the west wall of the the US Capitol in Washington in the January 6 insurrection (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

Mr Milley believed the president suffered a mental decline after the election, agreeing with a view shared by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a phone call they had on January 8, according to officials.

Ms Pelosi had previously said she spoke to Mr Milley that day about “available precautions” to prevent Mr Trump from initiating military action or ordering a nuclear launch, and she told colleagues she was given unspecified assurances that there were long-standing safeguards in place.

Mr Milley, according to the book, called the admiral overseeing the US Indo-Pacific Command, the military unit responsible for Asia and the Pacific region, and recommended postponing upcoming military exercises. He also asked senior officers to swear an “oath” that Mr Milley had to be involved if Mr Trump gave an order to launch nuclear weapons, according to the book.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Video footage shows the convoy had emergency lights flashing when it was hit

Israel admits ‘mistakenly’ killing 15 aid workers after video leak contradicted official version of events

Jaguar Land Rover has paused shipments to the US in the wake of 'Liberation Day' tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover halts shipments to US in wake of tariffs as Trump insists he'll win 'economic revolution'

Flowers and toys left on a swing seat to commemorate victims killed in Russia's missile attack on Friday

Death toll from Russian strike on Zelenskyy's home town rises as 18 confirmed dead - including nine children

Donald Trump's 10% tariff on UK products has officially come into force

Trump tariffs come into force as global stock markets plunge deeper into the red

Tom Howard

British tourist killed after being struck by boulder on trek through Himalayas

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a car burns following a Russian missile attack that killed more than a dozen people, including children, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia kills 16 people including three children in missile strike on Zelenskyy's home town, with dozens wounded

Travel influencer Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made an illegal visit to North Sentinel Island

Tourist who left Coke for world's most isolated tribe 'could have wiped them all out' - and police 'can't go collect can'

White House weighs in to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

White House looking to support ‘censored’ anti-abortion activists in Britain

This image provided by NASA shows Nick Hague, right, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore. (NASA via AP)

Stranded NASA astronauts reveal they were almost trapped in space 'forever' after horror malfunction

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen'

Donald Trump demands France 'free Marine Le Pen' after far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement in 'witch hunt'

China will impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on imports from the US

China announces additional 34% tariffs on US imports in retaliation over Trump's 'Liberation Day' levies

Friends of Prince Andrew say he's "unsurprised" Giuffre made the post

Prince Andrew 'not surprised' his accuser shared shock post saying she had 'four days to live'

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office as impeachment upheld over martial law declaration

Virginia Giuffre

Woman driving Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre during crash that left her with 'four days to live' breaks silence

Exclusive
'Donald Trump has made Putin comfortable,' Mikhail Khodorkovsky has warned

'Trump has made Putin comfortable' despite massive Ukraine war losses, exiled former oligarch tells LBC

The bodies of Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered by a neighbour.

British couple found dead in south of France home being ‘treated as murder-suicide’