US President Donald Trump on Friday openly demanded that Microsoft fire Lisa Monaco, the president of global affairs for the company and a former top Democrat administration official.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump labeled Monaco as "corrupt and totally Trump deranged" and accused her of being a threat to national security because of her former government positions. "She is a menace to US National Security, particularly considering the massive contracts that Microsoft has with the United States Government," he said.
Due to Monaco's numerous wrongful actions, the US Government recently revoked all Security Clearances from her, removed all access she had to National Security Intelligence, and excluded her from all Federal Properties."
Trump went on to say, "in my opinion, Microsoft should immediately fire Lisa Monaco.
Reuters says Monaco joined Microsoft in July, leading the firm's worldwide outreach to governments, as verified on her LinkedIn page. She was a national security aide to Barack Obama, coordinated the Justice Department's reaction to the January 6 Capitol insurrection, and was Deputy Attorney General in the Joe Biden administration.
Trump linked his request to Monaco's earlier involvement in the Biden Justice Department, which launched legal actions against him, and said that her senior role at Microsoft with exposure to confidential information was "unacceptable."
The backlash follows closely on the heels of former FBI head James Comey, a long-time Trump foe, being charged with obstruction and perjury. Trump has said he wants "others" prosecuted, reports Reuters.
This assault on Monaco is part of Trump's continued trend of attacking perceived political rivals. He has forced charges against several figures since returning to the White House in January, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, and put pressure on institutions from law firms to universities.
Trump's interventions have also reached corporate America. His administration has previously demanded the resignation of Intel's CEO, pushed Disney's ABC over Jimmy Kimmel's show, and affected choices at other dominant companies.
At the same time, Microsoft is keeping its relationship with the administration under control. The CEO, Satya Nadella, previously this month joined Trump and other technology industry leaders to a White House dinner. The firm has also been criticized for its US agency contracts and, in a separate matter, for restricting some of its cloud offerings to a division of the Israeli military after considering reported surveillance practices, CNBC said.
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