Trump Says Mattis 'could Be' Leaving As US Defense Chief
Rukhshan Mir (@rukhshanmir) Published October 14, 2018 | 11:48 PM
Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Oct, 2018 ) :US President Donald Trump said in an interview airing Sunday that Defence Secretary Jim Mattis "could be" leaving, referring to him as "sort of a Democrat." Mattis, seen as one of the steadiest but also more independent members of Trump's cabinet, has served as a low-profile counterweight to the president in his often abrasive treatment of US allies.
In an interview to be aired Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes," Trump was asked whether he wanted Mattis to leave.
"It could be that he is. I think he's sort of a Democrat, if you want to know the truth," Trump said, according to an excerpt released by CBS. "But General Mattis is a good guy. We get along very well. He may leave. I mean, at some point, everybody leaves." Trump said he had lunch with Mattis two days earlier and the retired Marine four-star general had not told him that he was leaving.
Rumours that Mattis's days as defence chief are numbered have circulated since a book by journalist Bob Woodward about Trump's chaotic White House said the general had questioned Trump's judgment, likening his understanding to that of a 10- or 11-year-old child.
"Of course, I don't think about leaving," Mattis told Pentagon reporters last month. "I love it here." Trump's comments come as he eyes another cabinet shakeup.
Last week, his ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, announced her resignation, effective at the end of the year.
She gave no reason for the surprise move, but observers have noted that the ascension of John Bolton as national security adviser and Mike Pompeo as secretary of state have shifted the power dynamics on Trump's national security team.
- Generals on the outs - The generals who once dominated security policy increasingly have appeared to be on the outs with Trump.
Lieutenant General HR McMaster was replaced by Bolton in April, while John Kelly, the White House chief of staff and also a retired four-star general, is reported to have lost influence with the mercurial president.
Mattis has been careful to avoid public conflict with Trump, but has nonetheless performed in ways that contrast sharply with his boss, emphatically defending the US commitment to its NATO allies and calling out Russia.
Earlier this month, as NATO announced its biggest military exercises since the Cold War, Mattis reassured allies of America's "iron-clad" commitment to the 69-year-old alliance.
The US, he told reporters in Paris, is "keenly aware of the dangers close to your home." While Bolton and Pompeo also have taken a hard line on Russia, Trump has often expressed a desire for better relations with Russia's President Vladimir Putin. He used a NATO summit in July to berate allies as "delinquent" on defense spending.
In the "60 Minutes" interview, Trump alluded to upcoming changes in his cabinet.
"I'm changing things around. And I'm entitled to. I have people now on standby that will be phenomenal. They'll come into the administration, they'll be phenomenal," Trump said.
"I think we have a great cabinet. There're some people that I'm not happy with. I have some people that I'm not thrilled with. And I have other people that I'm beyond thrilled with," he said.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
Sindh minister orders operation after attack on police in Ghotki
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
More Stories From World
-
Football: English Championship table
14 minutes ago -
Time for 'democratic transition' in Venezuela: opposition candidate to AFP
34 minutes ago -
Spain's Pedro Sanchez : a risk-taker with a flair for survival
44 minutes ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 table
1 hour ago -
Nadal will only play French Open if he can 'compete well'
1 hour ago -
Ukraine, Israel, TikTok: the massive aid package before US Congress
1 hour ago
-
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
1 hour ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 results
2 hours ago -
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
3 hours ago -
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
3 hours ago -
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
3 hours ago -
Anger among Ukrainians in Poland as Kyiv halts passport renewals
3 hours ago