President Donald Trump blew up at James Mattis, his former Defense secretary, on Wednesday night after the military leader publicly raked him over the coals for using militaristic force against American citizens to do a hokey photo-op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church earlier this week.
“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 tweeted. “I asked for his letter of resignation, & felt great about it.”
The President claimed he had given Mattis “a new life, things to do, and battles to win,” but the ex-Pentagon chief “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!” he tweeted.
The furious tweets were a response to a lengthy statement Mattis had issued on Wednesday evening decrying Trump’s “abuse of executive authority” when he had federal police teargas peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square so that he could pose for the cameras in front of the church.
“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try,” Mattis wrote. “Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.”
Mattis left the Trump administration in early 2019 after his relationship with the President grew tense due to Trump’s push to remove U.S. military forces in Syria and his disregard for U.S.’ longtime international allies.
