Mattis pushes back on Trump's claim that he's 'sort of a Democrat'
Secretary of Defense James Mattis isn't going anywhere just yet.
Mattis told reporters on Monday that Trump has assured him he is "100 percent" behind him, per CBS News. This came after Trump told 60 Minutes on Sunday that it "could be" that his secretary of defense will leave the administration because "I think he's sort of a Democrat."
In response, the retired four-star Marine Corps general told reporters that he has actually never registered for a political party, and his "portfolio is bipartisan." He also said he and the president have "never talked" about the possibility of him leaving the administration.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
60 Minutes' question for Trump came following reports that Trump and Mattis' relationship had grown strained; The New York Times reported in September that the president has "soured on his defense secretary" and is "increasingly concerned that he is a Democrat at heart." With such a high turnover rate in the Trump administration, this has naturally raised the question of whether Mattis is on his way out, but for now, he says he's "on [Trump's] team."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Will AI kill the smartphone?In The Spotlight OpenAI and Meta want to unseat the ‘Lennon and McCartney’ of the gadget era
-
Must-see bookshops around the UKThe Week Recommends Lose yourself in beautiful surroundings, whiling away the hours looking for a good book
-
A Nipah virus outbreak in India has brought back Covid-era surveillanceUnder the radar The disease can spread through animals and humans
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
