Defense Secretary James Mattis has repeatedly declined to appear on Fox & Friends, President Donald Trump’s favorite morning show, according to The New York Times.
The Times report details Mad Dog’s efforts to lay low and maintain an apolitical profile in an administration that often finds itself marred by an unpopular president and unconventional policies.
While Mattis has maintained a healthy relationship with the president, the Times reports that he has “distinguished between requests from Mr. Trump himself and those from administration aides.”
Aides have reportedly “called the Pentagon weekly suggesting that [Mattis] go on ‘Fox & Friends,’ the Fox News morning show that is supportive of Mr. Trump,” to no avail.
Mattis has made only one Sunday show appearance in four months on the job, granting an interview to CBS’s John Dickerson for Face the Nation. An appearance on Fox & Friends, a break of dawn megaphone for the daily White House narrative, would surely please the administration, but apparently appeals little to the no-nonsense general.
“Mr. Mattis has increasingly sought to avoid situations that might put him on the spot,” the Times reports, noting that on a recent long-haul flight to Asia the defense secretary “limited his on-the-record interaction with reporters on his plane to a three-paragraph statement previewing a policy speech he gave in Singapore.”
Mattis has on a number of occasions distanced himself from the more radical foreign policy declarations issued by Trump, reassuring foreign officials that the United States remains a reliable ally, despite policy from the White House that points to the contrary.
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