Donald Trump introduces defense secretary nominee Gen. Mattis at North Carolina victory rally

Donald Trump introduces Gen. James Mattis at N.C. rally

(Image credit: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)

On Tuesday night in Fayetteville, North Carolina, President-elect Donald Trump held his second "thank you" victory rally at a venue outside Fort Bragg, pledging to unify the country and pour more money into the military, and formally introducing retired Gen. James Mattis as his nominee for defense secretary. He called "Mad Dog Mattis" one of "the most effective generals that we've had in many, many decades," and when Mattis said he hoped Congress would issue him a waiver from the mandatory seven-year gap between military service and serving as defense secretary, Trump concurred. "You'll get that waiver, right?" he said. "If you didn't get that waiver, there will be such a lot of angry people."

The rally was generally more subdued than the one Trump held in Cincinnati last week. Trump did boast about winning North Carolina and other swing states, but he stopped the crowd from booing when he mentioned the news media. He laid out a vision of a militarily restrained foreign policy, as most recent presidents have, and pledged to repeal ObamaCare, stop illegal immigration, and renegotiate trade deals.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.