Chief of Staff Quotes
He was assessing him with the demagogue Huey Long and determining that MacArthur was more dangerous, This was based on his brutal suppression of the Veterans who protested and camped in Washington to get the Bonus that Congress had promised them from WWI but would not appropriate the money, MacArthur’s huge ego and ambition, and his penchant for self-promotion. FDR did not at the time know of course that MacArthur would disobey his orders and almost start WWIII later by attacking China in the Korean War. President Truman fired MacArthur. See {638721} for the way FDR tried to handle him. In 2014, historian Mark Perry, would use this quotation as the title of his biography of MacArthur.
Without any fanfare, TR’s official stationery had a picture of the building with the text “White House”. At the time it was built in 1792 for President John Adams, a rather pompous man, it was the largest private home in America.
Eisenhower was referring to MacArthur’s decision, as Army Chief of Staff, to take personal command of infantry, calvary and battle tanks he had ordered assembled to oust the WWI Veterans and their families from the shantytown they had erected in Washington DC to protest the fact that they had not been paid the bonuses that the law required. The attack on the protesting veterans was one of the great disgraces of American history. Eisenhower, knowing full well MacArthur’s penchant for strong attack, thought a more prudent officer should take charge of the delicate operation, and not the heavy-handed, aggressive General. See Quotation 643961.
Not every president feels the need for one. Nixon however had several.
