China Seriously Thought Donald Trump Might Nuke Them

In case you’re keeping track — probably in some constantly failing attempt to find some consistency among Trump supporters — Bob Woodward’s last book Rage was entirely fake news, as was his book Fear: Trump In The White House. I have little doubt that most of his new book, Peril, covering the transition from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 Presidential Election, will also be considered fake news outside of the first chapter, specifically one tidbit that has gotten conservatives very angry. As Woodword’s native newspaper of The Washington Post reported on 9/14/2021:

In a pair of secret phone calls, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assured his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army, that the United States would not strike, according to a new book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward and national political reporter Robert Costa.

The first call, which took place on 10/30/2020, saw Milley calling Li in response to intelligence that the Chinese were worried of a possible nuclear first strike from President Donald Trump. The second call, taking place on 1/8/2021, saw Milley making the same point, although this time with the extra fear that Donald Trump would do such a thing to force himself to remain President. (Listeners to my old podcast — Peaceful…