Gen. Barry McCaffrey: “No One Wants To Replace Flynn Because They Know It’s Career Suicide”

During an interview on MSNBC, retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey claims the Trump administration can’t find a decent candidate to take over for ousted National Security Advisor Mike Flynn because any qualified person can see how “disorganized” the White House is and have no desire to commit career suicide.

McCaffrey, who was appointed as head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy by President Bill Clinton, talked about the fact that Gen. David Petraeus withdrew his name shortly after Vice Adm. Robert Harward rejected the job after watching President Donald Trump’s widely criticized press conference.

When asked for a comment, the retired general indicated that most qualified candidate would probably not be considered because they criticized Trump in the past.

“I think part of the problem is the intellectual heavyweights of the defense community and the Republican Party all denounced the president during the campaign, so the pickings are sort of slim,” McCaffrey explained. “Having said that, there are good people out there who I’m sure would consider serving.”

“The problem is the acrimonious nature, the disorganization inside the White House and for that matter, with among the government, is so profound that a lot of good people who are are going to be hesitant to risk their career for public service,” he warned.

When asked about his opinion of why former Sen. Dan Coats has not been confirmed yet, McCaffrey said he didn’t see that happening.

“Well, I’m — I would not be unsurprised to see Senator Coats withdraw his name,” McCaffrey replied. “There was a lot of talk about putting in other unqualified people in the administration and in the intelligence community.”