Joe Biden threw his weight behind the top US military officer on Wednesday, saying he had “great confidence” in the general who, according to a new book, took steps to prevent the outgoing Republican president Donald Trump from “going rogue” and launching a nuclear war or an attack on China.
Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, also defended phone calls he made to his Chinese military counterpart in the tumultuous final months of Trump’s presidency, signaling that the hitherto secret conversations were in keeping with his duties.
“I have great confidence in General Milley,” Biden said at the White House, when asked if the military leader had done the right thing by intervening.
Moments earlier, White House press secretary Jen Psaki had told reporters that Biden, the Democratic president who beat Trump last November, backs Milley’s “leadership, his…
