Won't keep quiet 'forever'

Mattis says he owes Trump silence, but won't keep quiet 'forever'

By QUINT FORGEY

Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis said in a new interview he feels duty-bound to keep quiet his personal opinions of President Donald Trump’s leadership, but revealed his obligation to refrain from criticism of the current commander-in-chief is “not eternal.”

The revered former Marine Corps general, who exited the administration in December 2018, invoked “the French concept of devoir de réserve” in a conversation with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg for a story published Thursday.

“The duty of silence," Mattis explained. "If you leave an administration, you owe some silence."

“When you leave an administration over clear policy differences, you need to give the people who are still there as much opportunity as possible to defend the country,” he continued, arguing that “we have to give the people who are protecting us some time to carry out their duties without me adding my criticism to the cacophony that is right now so poisonous.”

Pressed on whether he bears a responsibility to warn Americans about a potentially unfit president, Mattis insisted it was inappropriate to “endanger the country by attacking the elected commander in chief.”

But Mattis also indicated he may soon more vocally challenge the president and speak out about his time leading Trump's Defense Department. “There is a period in which I owe my silence. It’s not eternal. It’s not going to be forever,” he said.

Mattis did directly denounce a May tweet by Trump in which he claimed he was not bothered by North Korea’s tests of short-range ballistic missiles and promoted an insult that leader Kim Jong Un leveled against former Vice President Joe Biden.

“North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me,” Trump wrote online. “I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that’s sending me a signal?”

Responding to the post, Mattis remarked: “Any Marine general or any other senior servant of the people of the United States would find that, to use a mild euphemism, counterproductive and beneath the dignity of the presidency.”

Mattis’ support for longstanding global partnerships and harsh words for foreign strongmen diverged markedly from Trump’s foreign policy posture, though his decision to step down from the president’s Cabinet late last year resulted from his disagreement with the president’s order to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria.

Mattis's resignation letter, which stressed the importance of the United States’ international alliances, was widely perceived as a thinly veiled rebuke to Trump’s brand of diplomacy.

“My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues,” Mattis wrote at the time.

Mattis’ comments to The Atlantic marked the second time this week the former Pentagon chief has hinted at the broader policy disputes with Trump that precipitated his exit from government service.

In an essay published Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal adapted from his forthcoming book, cautioned against the “internal divisiveness” and “tribalism” overtaking American politics.

“Unlike in the past, where we were unified and drew in allies, currently our own commons seems to be breaking apart,” Mattis wrote.