--- title: Joint Chiefs of Staff React to Trump's Defense of Extremism description: Four members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have taken to Twitter to rally against racism and intolerance in recent days. canonical: https://time.com/4903068/joint-chief-of-staffs-trump/ author: Rachel Lewis article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-16T16:25:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:00:57.179Z article:section: Politics og:title: Top Military Leaders Who Advise President Trump Speak Out Against Racism og:description: "No place for racial hatred or extremism." og:url: https://time.com/4903068/joint-chief-of-staffs-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86142e7af725c4cf/6988d9f8bc6cfc3d063e2a81/joint-chiefs-of-staff.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Mark A. Milley, John M. Richardson, David L. Goldfein, Robert B. Neller og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Top Military Leaders Who Advise President Trump Speak Out Against Racism twitter:description: "No place for racial hatred or extremism." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86142e7af725c4cf/6988d9f8bc6cfc3d063e2a81/joint-chiefs-of-staff.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Top Military Leaders Who Advise President Trump Speak Out Against Racism by [Rachel Lewis](https://time.com/author/rachel-lewis/) ## Rachel Lewis Aug 16, 2017 4:25 PM UTC  Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson, left, accompanied by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein, center, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert B. Neller,l in Washington on April 5, 2017 Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson, left, accompanied by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein, center, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert B. Neller,l in Washington on April 5, 2017Jose Luis Magana—AP by [Rachel Lewis](https://time.com/author/rachel-lewis/) ## Rachel Lewis Aug 16, 2017 4:25 PM UTC Four members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have taken to Twitter to rally against racism and intolerance in recent days. The service chiefs of the U.S. Air Force, Naval Operations, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps have all tweeted that their branches of the military stand against racism and intolerance. All four are among the group of seven senior uniformed leaders who advise President Trump on military issues. The statements have all come since a [white nationalist rally](http://time.com/after-charlottesville-ruddy-roye/) in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent, leaving one counterprotester dead. Two of the statements came after Trump [defended some of the marchers](http://time.com/4902144/donald-trump-charlottesville-blame-both-sides-kkk-nazi/) at the rally at a [much-criticized press conference](http://time.com/4902793/anderson-cooper-donald-trump-charlottesville/) on Tuesday. Adm. John Richardson, the Chief of Naval Operations, tweeted on Sunday that the Navy “forever stands against intolerance and hatred.” > [](https://twitter.com/CNORichardson/status/896529683508015104) Gen. Mark A. Milley, of the U.S. Army, tweeted on Monday that racism and extremism is “against our values and everything we’ve stood for since 1775.” > [](https://twitter.com/ArmyChiefStaff/status/897742317897093121) Gen. Robert B. Neller of the Marine Corps then said on Tuesday that there is “no place for racial hatred or extremism in @USMC \[the Marine Corps\].” > [](https://twitter.com/GenRobertNeller/status/897591648007446529) Gen. Dave Goldfein, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, was the latest to tweet saying that he stands with his fellow service chiefs. > [](https://twitter.com/GenDaveGoldfein/status/897820707727577089) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4903068/joint-chief-of-staffs-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4903068/joint-chief-of-staffs-trump/"},"headline":"Top Military Leaders Who Advise President Trump Speak Out Against Racism","datePublished":"2017-08-16T16:25:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:00:57.179Z","description":"\"No place for racial hatred or extremism\"","url":"https://time.com/4903068/joint-chief-of-staffs-trump/","keywords":["Charlottesville","Military","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86142e7af725c4cf/6988d9f8bc6cfc3d063e2a81/joint-chiefs-of-staff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel Lewis","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rachel-lewis/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86142e7af725c4cf/6988d9f8bc6cfc3d063e2a81/joint-chiefs-of-staff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mark A. 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