Former US defence secretary Jim Mattis said he has been “angry and appalled” by President Donald Trump’s heavy-handed use of the military to quell protests near the White House.
Mr Mattis, who retired from his post in December 2018 following disagreement with Mr Trump over Syria, also accused the president of setting up a “false conflict” between the military and civilian society.
He was speaking after protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody and took issue with Mr Trump’s walk to a church on Monday after police forcibly cleared Lafayette Square of mostly peaceful protesters.
He said he never dreamed troops “would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens – much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.”
Mr Mattis, writing in the Atlantic, said: “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try.
Probably the only thing Barack Obama & I have in common is that we both had the honor of firing Jim Mattis, the world’s most overrated General. I asked for his letter of resignation, & felt great about it. His nickname was “Chaos”, which I didn’t like, & changed to “Mad Dog”…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020
“Instead he tries to divide us.
“We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.”
Mr Trump responded on Twitter by calling Mr Mattis “the world’s most overrated General”, adding: “I didn’t like his ‘leadership’ style or much else about him, and many others agree, Glad he is gone!”
