"Can't you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?" Trump asked, according to an excerpt in Esper's book "A Sacred Oath," Axios reported.
CNN has previously reported similar accounts, including those documented by journalist Michael Bender in his own book titled "Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost."
Last year, Bender's book revealed new details about how Trump repeatedly called for law enforcement to shoot protesters during Oval Office meetings.
"Just shoot them," Trump said on multiple occasions inside the Oval Office, according to Bender's book.