The U.S. has an honorable history of end-running an unstable chief executive … pic.twitter.com/8A8MktddBC
— Bob Felton (@BobFelton) September 6, 2018
Sometime toward the end of the Nixon Administration, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger ordered the Chiefs of Staff to ignore any presidential order not countersigned by him.
It sounds more Hollywood than history. A paranoid president, unhinged, drinking heavily, ranting against his enemies, terrifies subordinates. The defense secretary commits what may be the most patriotic act of treason in American history: ordering the Joint Chiefs of Staff to ignore any White House military initiatives lacking his signature.
Most historians believe that as Richard Nixon staggered toward resignation in 1974, Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger undermined the president’s constitutional authority. The late Watergate expert Stanley Kutler was skeptical, asking where was the paper trail? But who would write down such orders? It is more believable that this prickly, patriotic, public servant risked his career to save America rather than risking his reputation by inventing such a crazy story.
Those of us who lived through the turmoil of Watergate, and made a point of understanding what had happened, have been more saddened than surprised by the disintegration of Trump’s presidency; America has been here before.
I doubt very much, however, that Trump will make a gentlemanly departure. He will probably summon his cultists and try to remain in office by recourse to force.