'The president has clearly forgotten how it actually happened': John Kelly defends Mattis
Former White House chief of staff John Kelly said Thursday that President Donald Trump "has clearly forgotten" the circumstances of former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis's departure from the administration, breaking with his former boss to side with a fellow retired Marine Corps general.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Kelly contradicted Trump’s claim that he had fired Mattis. Kelly called Mattis “an honorable man” and described Trump’s Twitter attack on the former Defense secretary as “nasty.”
Mattis criticized Trump in a statement sent to reporters on Wednesday evening, rebuking the president and his response to protests that have sprung up in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, in Minneapolis police custody. The president has pushed to employ military force to crack down on protesters and rioters. He has faced bipartisan backlash after federal law enforcement used aggressive tactics, including flash-bang grenades and pepper spray, to clear Lafayette Square so that Trump could cross it on foot for a photo opportunity in front of a damaged church.
The Trump administration and U.S. Park Police have denied using tear gas despite evidence that it was, in fact, deployed.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/04/john-kelly-jim-mattis-feud-trump-301335
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