Mattis breaks with president on media
— Defense Secretary James Mattis said Sunday that the media is not the “enemy of the American people,” refusing to align with President Donald Trump’s startling declaration last week.
“I’ve had some contentious times with the press,” he said in response to a question about whether he saw the media as an enemy. “But no, the press is a constituency that we deal with, and I don’t have any issues with the press myself.”
On Friday, Mr. Trump tweeted that the “fake news” media was an “enemy of the American people.” An initial tweet mentioning CNN, The New York Times, NBC and “many more” was deleted and reposted, expanding to include ABC and CBS.
Mr. Trump repeated the attack Saturday before supporters in Melbourne, Fla., when he blamed the media for undermining his administration.
“I also want to speak to you without the filter of the fake news,” Mr. Trump said. “They’ve become a big part of the problem. They are part of the corrupt system.”
On Saturday, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said talk like that was “how dictators get started.”
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said Sunday that Mr. Trump’s latest attack on the media had gone too far.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Mr. Mattis said comments by Gen. Tony Thomas, commander of the U.S. military’s Special Operations Command, saying that the “government continues to be in unbelievable turmoil” were taken out of context.