How Accurate Are Mark Esper's Allegations Against Trump?

How accurate are former Defense Secretary Mark Esper's allegations against former President Donald Trump?

In his new memoir and a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday night, Esper highlighted a number of instances where he prevented Trump from acting on "dangerous things that could have taken the country in a dark direction." Esper claimed that Trump wanted to fire missiles into Mexico to target drug cartels and shoot protesters "in the legs" during the George Floyd protests. Additionally, the former president allegedly proposed to take military action against a number of nations including Cuba, Iran and Venezuela. 

Left-rated voices were more likely to place confidence in Esper's claims and call for action. Paul Waldman and Greg Sargent argued in The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) that Democrats in Congress should hold a hearing to see if Trump "ordered a military assault on American civilians" and "determine if this episode reveals the need for institutional reforms." Also, an op-ed from The Intercept (Left bias) criticized Esper for not immediately telling the public that "the president would have them shot." Conversely, right-rated voices were more likely to dismiss Esper's allegations and his career as a whole. One Townhall (Right bias) columnist discredited all of Esper's claims and labeled him a "second-tier Trump administration hack who tries to leverage his track record of failure into a cash advance." The op-ed also proposed that the next GOP nominee "needs to make his cabinet picks known in advance" so that conservatives can "vet them," emphasizing how future administrations can't allow their agendas to be "sidetracked by bad personnel choices."