John Kelly defends James Mattis: 'The president did not fire him'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: The Hill


BY J. EDWARD MORENO - 06/04/20 02:39 PM EDT


John Kelly, President Trump’s former chief of staff, is defending former Defense Secretary James Mattis after the president said that he had the "honor" of firing "world’s most overrated general."

On Wednesday night, Trump denounced Mattis in a pair of tweets after the former Pentagon chief released a scorching statement criticizing the president's leadership amid nationwide protests against police brutality.

“The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation,” Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, told The Washington Post on Thursday.

Mattis, who served as Trump’s secretary of Defense in 2017 and 2018, on Wednesday ripped the president as a divisive leader who threatens to erode the U.S. military’s tradition of staying out of politics.



Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/501175-john-kelly-defends-james-mattis-the-president-did-not-fire-him

[Dennis Donovan]

1. John Kelly's quick to defend a pal, but his silence on Trump is deafening

Like, he REALLY should spill his guts about Trump and what he's capable of. And do it NOW.

[Scarsdale]

2. Follow the money.

He probably has a job that depends on not speaking badly about tRump, for whatever reason.

[riversedge]

4. yes, agree

[NoMoreRepugs]

3. Possible NDA???

[obamanut2012]

6. He isn't allowed to sign one

[NoMoreRepugs]

7. Got it.

[Judi Lynn]

5. John Kelly fact-checks Trump's claim that he fired Mattis: "The president has clearly forgotten"

“The president did not fire him," Kelly says, adding: "Jim Mattis is a honorable man"

SARAH K BURRIS
JUNE 4, 2020 7:47PM (UTC)

This article originally appeared on Raw Story

Former chief-of-staff Gen. John Kelly fact-checked President Donald Trump in a statement Thursday about the claim he fired the former Defense Department secretary.

"Probably the only thing Barack Obama and I have in common is that we both had the honor of firing Jim Mattis, the world's most overrated General," tweeted Trump on Wednesday. "I asked for his letter of resignation, and felt great about it. His nickname was 'Chaos', which I didn't like, and changed to 'Mad Dog.'"

Kelly explained that it appears the president forgot what happened.

"The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation," Kelly said in an interview. "The president has clearly forgotten how it actually happened or is confused. The president tweeted a very positive tweet about Jim until he started to see on Fox News their interpretation of his letter. Then he got nasty. Jim Mattis is a honorable man."

Trump's claim about the "Mad dog" name for Mattis is also false.

More:
https://www.salon.com/2020/06/04/john-kelly-fact-checks-trumps-claim-that-he-fired-mattis-the-president-has-clearly-forgotten_partner/