
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Secretary of Defense James âMad Dogâ Mattis will leave the administration by the end of February.
The president did not announce who would replace Mattis to lead the Department of Defense, saying only that the new Defense secretary would be ânamed shortly.â
Shortly after Trump made the announcement, the Associated Press published Mattisâ resignation letter. In it, Mattis hinted that all was not well between him and Trump, writing that âyou have a right to a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yoursâ when it comes to âtreating allies with respectâ (Mattis is in favor of this) and dealing with countries like China and Russia, whose âstrategic interests are increasingly in tension with ours.â
News of Mattisâ retirement comes just one day after the president surprised everyone by announcing a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, declaring the terrorist group ISIS âDefeated.â The pullout reportedly went against the wishes of Mattis, whoâd advised the president to remain in the country.
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Mattis had long been seen as one of the few âadults in the roomâ keeping the Trump administrationâand the president himselfârelatively stable throughout Trumpâs volatile mood swings and manic lurches. By the presidentâs own admission, however, he was primarily thankful for Mattisâ help âwith respect to the purchase of new fighting equipment.â Which is to say, the president liked having a shopping buddy aroundâuntil he didnât.
Thatâs quite an impressive legacy to leave behind.
Update, 6:50 pm: Former Trump rival and useless face of âsensibleâ far-right Republicans Sen. Marco Rubio has weighed in on Mattisâ resignation letter. Folks, Trump must be stopped.
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If Rubio really wanted to convince the president to change his policies, maybe he should have thought of that before supporting nearly every disastrous decision heâs made for the past two years.