Defense Secretary James Mattis publicly contradicts Trump on North Korea

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis meets with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-Moo at the Pentagon.

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 31 August 2017

Defense Secretary James Mattis was quick to correct President Trump when the commander in chief claimed Wednesday that "talking is not the answer" when it comes to North Korea.

"We are never out of diplomatic solutions," Mattis told reporters.

A number of high-ranking officials have found themselves scrambling to temper Trump's statements since he took office, Reuters reports. Recently, many broke with Trump's statements about violence on "both sides" in Charlottesville, including economic adviser Gary Cohn, who specified that "citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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