James Mattis Takes A Swipe At President Trump

Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis published an op-ed this morning, taking a few swipes at President Trump’s leadership, and warning against the “fallout from fractured alliances and increasing divisiveness under the current administration.”

(To be fair, the divisiveness IS at a boiling point right now – but I think it’s disingenuous to blame that entirely on Trump.)

According to Fox News:

Mattis’ comments were included in a lengthy essay adapted from a forthcoming book and published in The Wall Street Journal. They amount to some of the most extensive remarks from him about his time in the Trump administration since he quietly resigned in January.

In the essay, Mattis suggested he left his post as secretary of defense amid concerns about “keeping faith with our allies,” warning that America “cannot go it alone.”

“Nations with allies thrive, and those without them wither. Alone, America cannot protect our people and our economy,” Mattis wrote. “At this time, we can see storm clouds gathering.”

Well…that’s ominous.

He pointedly added: “A polemicist’s role is not sufficient for a leader. A leader must display strategic acumen that incorporates respect for those nations that have stood with us when trouble loomed.”

Mattis said he “did as well as I could, for as long as I could” as secretary of defense.

He also comments on his resignation:

In one section, he essentially wrote that he resigned when he felt his concerns about those alliances were not being taken seriously.

“When my concrete solutions and strategic advice, especially keeping faith with our allies, no longer resonated, it was time to resign, despite the limitless joy I felt serving alongside our troops in defense of our Constitution,” Mattis wrote.

He goes on to note his deepest concerns “as a military man,” noting they are “not our external adversaries; it is our internal divisiveness.”

“We are dividing into hostile tribes cheering against each other, fueled by emotion and a mutual disdain that jeopardizes our future instead of rediscovering our common ground and finding solutions,” he wrote. “All Americans need to recognize that our democracy is an experiment—and one that can be reversed. We all know that we’re better than our current politics.”

He added: “Tribalism must not be allowed to destroy our experiment.”