Trump says Mattis is ‘sort of a Democrat’
Secretary of defense has uneasy relations with White House
President Donald Trump, who once called Defense Secretary Jim Mattis “one of the most effective generals that we’ve had in many, many decades,” now has affixed a more ominous label to the retired four-star Marine: “Democrat.”
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who once called Defense Secretary Jim Mattis “one of the most effective generals that we’ve had in many, many decades,” has now affixed a more ominous label to the retired fourstar Marine general: “Democrat.”
In a “60 Minutes” interview broadcast on CBS on Sunday night, Trump grouped his defense secretary in with the political party the president describes at every turn as “an angry, leftwing mob” bent on destroying the country.
“I think he’s sort of a Democrat, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said.
But the president added he did not know whether Mattis would be the next major departure from his administration, following the abrupt resignation announcement last week by Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and the expected exit this fall of Don McGahn, the White House counsel.
“He may leave,” Trump said of Mattis, though he called him “a good guy” and insisted the two men had “a very good relationship.”
“I mean, at some point, everybody leaves,” the president said. “Everybody. People leave. That’s Washington.”
Mattis, 68, has been seen as one of the “adults” in the orbit of a president who entered the White House with no military or foreign policy experience and who has in some cases favored loyalists over seasoned officials for top posts.
But that notion has annoyed the president, helping to fray their personal relationship, and a breach has developed between the men over some of the most high-profile items on Trump’s military agenda.
Never a direct critic in public, Mattis has privately disagreed with the president on issues like NATO policy, Trump’s decision to cancel large-scale joint exercises with the South Koreans and the long-term effectiveness of the president’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
Trump’s jab at Mattis threatens to put his defense secretary in a precarious position akin to that of other Cabinet officials like Attorney General Jeff Sessions who have remained in office even as they have come under fire from the president.
Now well into his second year as president, with Trump confident in his job as commander in chief and taking a more leading role on national security decisions, cracks in his relationship with Mattis are readily apparent. That includes sidelining Mattis over policy decisions and ignoring national security aides.
The recent publication of a book by Bob Woodward might have widened those cracks. In the book, Woodward writes that after a briefing on North Korea, Mattis told colleagues that Trump had the understanding of a “fifth- or sixth-grader.” Mattis denied saying that.
Last month, Mattis told Pentagon reporters they should not pay much attention to reports that he might be leaving his post.
“How many times have we been through this now, just since I’ve been here?
“It will die down soon, and the people who started the rumor will be allowed to write the next rumor, too,” Mattis said. “Just the way the town is. Keep a sense of humor about it.”
As reports continued to swirl, the defense secretary joked about his potential departure.
“Of course, I don’t think about leaving,” he told reporters last month. “I love it here.”