Tensions have exploded in recent days between President Trump and a batch of current and former military officials who are critical – to varying degrees – of how he's handled the unrest in the wake of George Floyd's death in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department. (Fox news reports)
The officials, including Trump's current Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, his former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and several others, have either implicitly broken with Trump in statements on policy or explicitly denounced his leadership — and Trump has fired back.
"Probably the only thing Barack Obama & I have in common is that we both had the honor of firing Jim Mattis, the world’s most overrated General," Trump said in a pair of tweets Wednesday night. "I asked for his letter of resignation, & felt great about it. His nickname was 'Chaos', which I didn’t like, & changed to 'Mad Dog.'"
Despite his claim, Trump did not give Mattis that nickname on his own. He has been referred to as "Mad Dog" as far back as 2004.
Trump added: "His primary strength was not military, but rather personal public relations. I gave him a new life, things to do, and battles to win, but he seldom 'brought home the bacon'. I didn’t like his 'leadership' style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!"
Trump was reacting to an extraordinary rebuke from Mattis that was published by The Atlantic.
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