Former CIA Director John Brennan, a vocal Trump critic, on Monday took to Twitter to announce that he now plans “to ignore Trump,” and will “leave his fate to our judicial system, his infamy to history, & his legacy to a trash heap.”
“For four years, I spoke out vigorously against Donald Trump’s craven dishonesty, corrupt pursuit of personal interests, & trampling of our democratic principles,” Brennan, who served under the Obama administration, began in a series of tweets. “After serving over three decades in national security, I felt compelled to condemn Trump’s depravity & incompetence.”
“My outspokenness has brought criticism, retaliation by the Trump Administration, & threats by those blinded by Trump’s demagoguery,” he continued. “Yes, it is unusual for a former CIA Director to speak out, but when an autocrat descended upon the White House, silence was not an option for me.”
“I now plan to ignore Trump,” Brennan added. “I leave his fate to our judicial system, his infamy to history, & his legacy to a trash heap.”
Brennan called for “strong bipartisan support” for the national security policies that will come from the administration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris once they take office in January.
On Monday, Biden announced a list of people he intends to nominate to head up his national security team, including Antony Blinken, a longtime foreign policy adviser, to serve as secretary of State; Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as Homeland Security secretary; Avril Haines to be director of national intelligence; and Jake Sullivan to be national security advisor.
Brennan added in a follow-up tweet Monday that while he “will refrain from referencing Donald Trump in Twittersphere again, I will not hesitate to denounce public officials of any political stripe who I believe betray the trust of the American people or engage in unethical, unprincipled, or corrupt activities.”
“I promise,” the former top national security official added.
Brennan’s Twitter remarks come after the ex-CIA director argued earlier this month that President Trump was “score-settling” with personnel changes at the Pentagon, which began with the firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper, followed by a series of resignations of other top officials.
“He wants people to be personally loyal to him,” Brennan said in an interview on CNN at the time. “So therefore the firing of Mark Esper and the decapitating of civilian leadership within the Pentagon, I think clearly is score-settling on the part of Mr. Trump.”
Sources reportedly told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the White House had focused on pushing out Esper’s undersecretaries after Esper and his team argued against withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller hired a senior adviser who frequently pushed for the immediate removal of troops from Afghanistan, and, last week, Miller announced that Trump had ordered the Pentagon to pull 2,500 U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq by mid-January.
Some experts have warned that such a rapid withdrawal would threaten national security and stability in the region, with the military frequently arguing against going below the 4,500 troops currently in Afghanistan.
Military officials have said that conditions on the ground do not warrant a drawback of troops, with the Taliban failing to uphold its agreement with the United States for peace in the country.