Trump is now saying he 'fired' James Mattis

(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

published 2 January 2019

President Trump just can't decide why former Secretary of State James Mattis left his job.

Trump first said Mattis was leaving the Pentagon in February "with distinction." Then he read Mattis' scathing resignation letter and seemingly decided to move his departure date up 2 months. Now, as of a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump is saying he flat-out "fired" Mattis.

Wednesday's Cabinet meeting was the first since Mattis' end-of-year departure. He resigned in late December over Trump's plan to withdraw troops from Syria, issuing a resignation letter thanking the troops — not Trump — for the chance to serve as defense secretary. Trump then took back his once-glowing review of Mattis in a Dec. 22 tweet, saying former President Barack Obama "ingloriously fired him" as U.S. Central Command chief in 2013, and reflected that sentiment again Wednesday.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.