Axios: “Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, repeatedly blew up at President Trump over how to handle last summer’s racial-justice protests, The Wall Street Journal’s Michael Bender writes in his forthcoming book, ‘Frankly, We Did Win This Election.’ The backdrop: Trump wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act and put Milley in charge of a scorched-earth military campaign to suppress protests that had spiraled into riots in several cities. Milley – now a GOP villain for his testimony last week on critical race theory – pushed back, Bender writes in a passage Axios is reporting for the first time:”

“Seated in the Situation Room with [Attorney General Bill] Barr, Milley, and [Secretary of Defense Mark] Esper, Trump exaggerated claims about the violence and alarmed officials … by announcing he’d just put Milley ‘in charge.’ Privately, Milley confronted Trump about his role. He was an adviser, and not in command. But Trump had had enough. ‘I said you’re in fucking charge!’ Trump shouted at him. ‘Well, I’m not in charge!’ Milley yelled back. ‘You can’t fucking talk to me like that!’ Trump said. … ‘Goddamnit,’ Milley said to others. ‘There’s a room full of lawyers here. Will someone inform him of my legal responsibilities?’ ‘He’s right, Mr. President,’ Barr said. ‘The general is right.’ Asked for a response, Trump told Jonathan Swan through an aide: ‘This is totally fake news, it never ever happened. I’m not a fan of Gen. Milley, but I never had an argument with him and the whole thing is false. He never talked back to me. Michael Bender never asked me about it and it’s totally fake news.’ Trump later added: ‘If Gen. Milley had yelled at me, I would have fired him.'”