In a PBS NewsHour interview with Judy Woodruff, former Defense Secretary, General Jim Mattis, repeatedly refused to conduct a “political assessment” of President Donald Trump and rebuffed answering if he thought Trump was “fit” to be commander-in-chief.
Mattis, author of the new book Call Sign Chaos, is in the middle of a media tour, which has included penning a Wall Street Journal op-ed that vaguely warned of “tribalism” and numerous media interviews where he seems to take veiled jabs at his former boss without actually calling him out by name.
His PBS NewsHour sit-down with Woodruff offered more of the same.
“I’m going to frustrate you here, Judy,” Mattis answered in typical fashion. “I don’t believe, now in the cheap seats, is what I would call myself, that I’m going to engage in political assessments of something like that. There will come a point, where I want to talk about strategy and policy. It’s not yet, but there will come a time.”
When Woodruff pointed out there is a presidential campaign underwary, and that Mattis’ behind-the-scenes role gave him a unique perspective on Trump that the public might find valuable, he still demurred and said he would not be speaking out before the 2020 election.
“This is a standing tradition of the American military and the American defense establishment that goes back two centuries,” Mattis said.
Woodruff pressed Mattis on a recent report about his resignation written by The Atlantic editor, Jeffrey Goldberg. In it, Goldberg writes that Mattis’ aides and friends said the general thought that Trump possessed “limited cognitive ability” and “was of generally dubious character.” Mattis flatly denied making such remarks and refused to comment on them. But he did tell Woodruff that he trusted Trump with the responsibility of the country’s vast nuclear arsenal.
“I have not heard anything that would indicate there was some irresponsibility there,” he said. “I realize we have an unusual president, and he talks openly about many things, but, at the same time, in the privacy of the office, he has to deal with the reality of competing factors.”
When Woodruff followed up, directly asking Mattis if he would speak out if he thought any president was not “fit” for the job. “Yes,” was the former Defense Secretary ‘s answer.
“In other words, you think he’s fit?” Woodruff responded, based on Mattis’ notable silence about calling out Trump since leaving the White House.
“No, I’m not saying that,” Mattis replied, seemingly trying to have it both ways. “I don’t make political assessments one way or the other — one
Watch the video above, via PBS NewsHour.