Statements from nearly all members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff condemning racism and extremism following violence in Charlottesville, Va., were just repeating a long-held tenet of the military, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday.
“They were simply emphasizing on the battlefield we are one team and that is the way we stay,” Mattis said during a press conference at the State Department. As the statements condemning racism trickled out, Twitter users wondered whether the high-ranking officers somehow criticizing President Trump.
The military services are diverse and for decades have held the same ideal of unity and tolerance expressed by six of the seven members of the Joint Chiefs since Saturday, Mattis said.
White nationalists and other racist groups who converged on the university town to rally against the removal of a Confederate statue clashed with counter-protesters over the weekend. A man linked to a white nationalist group plowed his Dodge into a crowd, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring others who turned out to oppose the rally.
Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Joint Chiefs chairman, was the most recent member to comment, making a statement during a trip to China and Asia to meet with military counterparts about North Korea.
“I have been traveling, so I’ve been following in bits and pieces what’s been happening in Charlottesville and very saddened by the events there and the loss of life of the young lady who was hit by a vehicle,” Dunford said in a Defense Department media release. “I can absolutely and unambiguously tell you there is no place — no place — for racism and bigotry in the U.S. military or in the United States as a whole.”
The uniformed leaders of the Navy, Army, Marine Corps, and National Guard all issued similar statements as controversy has swirled around Trump’s handling of the violence and a heated national debate has emerged over activity by racist groups, violence committed by Left-leaning protesters, and Confederate monuments.
Gen. Paul Selva, the Joint Chiefs vice chairman, was the only member not to issue a public statement against racism, bigotry and extremism, but his spokesman said Thursday that he “absolutely supports” the remarks by Dunford.
