Former military leaders join growing chorus against Trump

(NBC News) An unprecedented fault line is forming between retired military leaders and President Trump.

More are joining the chorus speaking out against the current commander in chief and his response to the police brutality protests sweeping the country.

President Trump’s former Defense Secretary James Mattis, writing in an op-ed in the Atlantic, stated “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.”

The retired Marine General slammed the president’s threats to deploy active-duty U.S. troops against Americans protesting racial injustice.

Mr. Trump fired back, calling Mattis “the world’s most overrated general.”

Still, Mattis is not alone. Retired Marine General John Allen and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen and Martin Dempsey are all condemning the president’s actions.

“America is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy,” Dempsey wrote.

Current Defense Secretary Mark Esper also broke with the president on using military force against protesters, reportedly putting his job on thin ice.

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