James Mattis has ruled out a run for the White House in 2020, The Washington Examiner reports.
Trump’s former Defense secretary, who left the White House in protest of Trump’s foreign policy, is pouring cold water on any speculation that he might primary Trump in 2020. In a CBS interview, “Mad Dog” Mattis likened the presidency to a “five-year jail sentence” even as he criticized Trump’s “unusual” governance.
Late last year, Mattis resigned from the Department of Defense (DOD) after Trump signaled a yet-realized desire to withdraw from wars in Afghanistan and Syria. Mattis was hailed as one of the few remaining “adults in the room” by the media as he made for the exits.
“A five-year jail sentence”
Like many veterans in Washington, including James Comey, Mattis is now looking to promote a new book: Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead. But Mattis swears that he has no sights on the presidency with the media blitz, telling would-be supporters at his favorite bar in Washington state that he would resent being the leader of the free world.
“Terry, it would be like a five-year jail sentence,” Mattis said.
Certainly, with 2020 election season kicking into gear, there is greater interest on the left in Republican candidates who might primary Trump. On the surface, Mattis doesn’t seem too far off the mark: he’s a Republican but not Trump-ian, as evinced by his distaste for the “rabid nature of politics” in the Trump era, and like former Trump ambassador Nikki Haley, has something of a following in the Republican base.
But in an interview with CBS that aired Sunday, Mattis was generally tight-lipped about President Trump, saying he would “not speak ill” of a sitting president. He did, however, call the president — who he revealed he has not spoken with since December — “unusual.”
“He’s an unusual president, our president is,” Mattis said. “And I think that especially with the — just the rabid nature of politics today, we’ve got to be careful. We could tear this country apart.”
From Trump ally to estranged critic
In an Atlantic interview published last week, Mattis cited a temporary “duty of silence” in neglecting to challenge Trump directly while he remains in office. Mattis warned that he was not bound forever to still his tongue, raising the possibility of more strident Trump criticism down the road.
“When you leave an administration over clear policy differences, you need to give the people who are still there as much opportunity as possible to defend the country,” Mattis said, despite embarking on a media tour. “There is a period in which I owe my silence. It’s not eternal. It’s not going to be forever.”
At the same time, Mattis seems to have no problem with taking passive-aggressive shots at his former boss. In his new book, the former DOD chief makes a veiled critique of Trump’s attacks on NATO and the post-World War II international order, reiterating a theme from his resignation letter.
“Nations with allies thrive, and those without them wither,” Mattis wrote, according to The Hill. “Alone, America cannot protect our people and our economy. At this time, we can see storm clouds gathering. 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.”
For his part, President Trump spoke highly of Mattis following his White House departure. “General Mattis was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations,” Trump tweeted in December 2018. “I greatly thank Jim for his service!
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