James Mattis pokes fun at Trump's insult: 'I guess I'm the Meryl Streep of generals'

(Image credit: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

last updated 18 October 2019

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis cracked a few jokes Thursday night at the Al Smith Memorial Foundation dinner in New York — and all of them were at the expense of President Trump.

During a contentious meeting on Wednesday between Trump and top Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) shared something Mattis had said about Trump's Islamic State policy. Trump reportedly responded that Mattis was "the world's most overrated general," and not "tough enough."

Mattis laughed this off during his keynote speech on Thursday, saying, "I'm not just an overrated general, I am the greatest, the world's most overrated." He also found common ground with one of the Hollywood's most acclaimed actresses: "I am honored to be considered that by Donald Trump, because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress, so I guess I'm the Meryl Streep of generals. Frankly, that sounds pretty good to me. You do have to admit, between me and Meryl, at least we've had some victories." Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.