Tag Archives: James Mattis

The Bulwark reports: Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis privately told Bob Woodward that he agrees with the assessment laid out in his book War, which paints Donald Trump as a unique and menacing threat to the country. Woodward said he recently received an email from Mattis, who served under Trump before resigning in protest. In the email, Mattis seconded the …

The Independent reports: Jim Mattis, onetime secretary of defense for the Trump administration, described the former president as “a madman in a circular room screaming,” a new book reveals. The revelation was made by Tom Bossert, Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser from 2017 to 2018, and published in The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis. The new …

The Associated Press reports: The book documents private grumblings, periods of exasperation and wrestling about whether to quit among the so-called adults of the Trump orbit: James Mattis, Dan Coats and former secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Mattis quietly went to Washington National Cathedral to pray about his concern for the nation’s fate under Trump’s command and, according to Woodward, …

The Associated Press reports: Senior and former military leaders appeared to struggle Friday with how to respond to a report that President Donald Trump disparaged U.S. service members killed in combat as “losers,” as the president attacked the allegations as “fake news.” Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, sharing the Atlantic article on Twitter, described the military’s cemeteries as “sacred shrines …

CNN reports: Former White House chief of staff John Kelly said Friday he agrees with former Secretary of Defense Gen. Jim Mattis’ stark warning this week that President Donald Trump is “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people” as nationwide protests have intensified over the death of George Floyd. “I agree with …

Stand by for another tweetstorm over this: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Thursday praised former Defense Secretary James Mattis, who, on Wednesday, offered a blistering critique of President Trump as a divisive leader. “Gen. Mattis’s letter was stunning and powerful. Gen. Mattis is a man of extraordinary sacrifice. He’s an American patriot. He’s an individual whose judgment I respect, and …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump’s former chief of staff John F. Kelly defended former defense secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday over Mattis’s criticism of the president’s handling of nationwide protests. Kelly also dismissed Trump’s assertion that the president fired the retired general in 2018. “The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation,” Kelly, a …

Axios reports: President Trump unloaded on his former defense secretary via Twitter on Wednesday, hours after James Mattis condemned him for making a “mockery of our Constitution” in his response to mass protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. Reality check: Trump did not create the “Mad Dog” nickname during his administration as he claimed. News reports as far …

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis writes: I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must …

Mediaite reports: Former James Mattis speechwriter Guy Snodgrass appeared live on Fox News to address questions about if he is Anonymous – questions that he completely dodged and gave no concrete answer. It was reported earlier today that Snodgrass was the Anonymous official who wrote an op-ed and book blasting President Donald Trump. Trace Gallagher asked Snodgrass point-blank if he …

CNN reports: A new biography of former Defense Secretary James Mattis reports President Donald Trump personally got involved in who would win a major $10 billion contract to provide cloud computing services to the Pentagon, according to the website Task & Purpose, which writes about military issues. That hotly contested contract was awarded to Microsoft on Friday evening over Amazon …

ABC News reports: Former Defense Secretary James Mattis roasted his former boss at the Alfred E. Smith dinner in New York City on Thursday night. “I’m not just an overrated general. I’m the world’s greatest overrated general,” joked Mattis, who received a standing ovation as he stepped to the dais. “I’m honored to be called that by Donald Trump, because …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Wednesday called his former Defense secretary, Jim Mattis, “the world’s most overrated general” during a tense meeting with lawmakers on the situation in Syria. Trump met with Democratic and Republican leaders at the White House to discuss Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria following his decision to pull U.S. forces from that area. During the …

The Associated Press reports: Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warns bitter political divisions have pushed American society to the ‘‘breaking point’’ in his most extensive public remarks since he resigned in protest from the Trump administration. Mattis also goes into some reasons he left the Trump administration in an excerpt from his book published Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal. …

Politico reports: Former Defense Secretary James Mattis declined to carry out orders from President Trump or otherwise limited his options in various attempts to prevent tensions with North Korea, Iran and Syria from escalating, The New Yorker reported Monday, the latest report of Trump’s own officials trying to check his worst instincts. In 2017, following a series of North Korean …

The New York Times reports: Rear Adm. Kevin M. Sweeney has resigned his post as chief of staff to the United States secretary of defense, the Defense Department said late Saturday. Mr. Sweeney had become chief of staff to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in January 2017, and his resignation comes soon after Mr. Mattis’s own pointed departure in December. Mr. …

“Our Department’s leadership, civilian and military, remains in the best possible hands. I am confident that each of you remains undistracted from our sworn mission to support and defend the Constitution while protecting our way of life. Our Department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult. So keep the faith in our country and …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria during an unannounced visit to Iraq, saying that many people will start seeing things on Syria the same way he does. Trump made the decision on Syria abruptly last week, against the advice of top aides and commanders, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, who …

Politico reports: Defense Secretary James Mattis wished U.S. troops a merry Christmas and worked Christmas Day after President Trump pushed the secretary out two months earlier than he planned to resign. “To those in the field or at sea, ‘keeping watch by night’ this holiday season, you should recognize that you carry on the proud legacy of those who stood …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Monday criticized outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis, claiming he hasn’t done enough to address countries that “take total advantage of the U.S.” and U.S. taxpayers. Mattis wrote in his resignation letter that the strength of the U.S. is “inextricably linked to the strength of our unique and comprehensive system of alliances.” He added that …