Former top cybersecurity official Chris Krebs early Wednesday fired back at President Donald Trump after he was dismissed from his post for refusing to promote the President’s false claims of widespread election fraud by riffing on a famous line from Star Wars.
“In defending democracy, do or do not, there is no try. This is the way,” Krebs tweeted, sharing a post from famed Star Wars actor Mark Hamill who suggested Krebs had been fired for “refusing to lie” for President Trump.
The tweet came hours after President Trump fired the top cybersecurity official responsible for securing the presidential election, after Krebs declared in a statement last week that the Nov. 3 election was “the most secure in American history.”
In defending democracy, do or do not, there is no try. This is the way. #Protect2020 @HamillHimself @PedroPascal1 https://t.co/nhF4FrVqhT
— Chris Krebs (@C_C_Krebs) November 18, 2020
The statement, released by the Department of Homeland Security, challenged President Trump’s efforts to spew falsehood around the integrity of the vote. Trump fumed in his announcement of Krebs’ dismissal on Tuesday evening, saying in a tweet that the terminated cybersecurity official’s statement was “highly inaccurate.”
The news of Krebs’ firing follows Trump’s termination last week of defense secretary Mark Esper which he also announced in a tweet.
Appearing to battle Trump in his own Twitter game, Krebs managed to share a retweet from elections expert David Becker shortly before his termination that pointed at the President.
“Please don’t retweet wild and baseless claims about voting machines, even if they’re made by the president,” the tweet originating from Becker said. “These fantasies have been debunked many times.”
Following his termination, Krebs continued to reject Trump’s false claims about the election tweeting from his personal account: “Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today, Secure Tomrorow [sic]. #Protect2020.”
Michael Chertoff, a former Bush administration homeland security secretary described Krebs’ firing to The New York Times as “nothing more than Trump’s personal vindictiveness.”
“He’s done everything you would want a senior official at D.H.S. to do,” Chertoff told the Times. “As far as I’m concerned, this firing is a badge of honor for Chris Krebs.”
