I have always been a fan of Jim "Maddog" Mattis, and once again, he reminds me why!
The former Secretary of Defense is sticking by his decision to refrain from openly criticizing President Trump. He feels that, even though he is no longer part of the Trump administration, it is still his duty to keep his opinions to himself regarding politics.
This is truly admirable considering he had a falling out with the president before resigning.
During an interview with Atlantic’s Jeffery Goldberg, Mattis declined numerous times to criticize Trump when it would have been easy to do so.
“I didn’t cook up a convenient tradition here,” Mattis said, defending his refusal to speak ill of the president, “You don’t endanger the country by attacking the elected commander in chief. I may not like a commander in chief one fricking bit, but our system puts the commander in chief there, and to further weaken him when we’re up against real threats — I mean, we could be at war on the Korean peninsula, every time they start launching something.”
“If you leave an administration, you owe some silence,” Maddog added, “I know the malevolence some people feel for this country, and we have to give the people who are protecting us some time to carry out their duties without me adding my criticism to the cacophony that is right now so poisonous."
He did state, however, that while he is bound by silence now, it will not be that way forever.
“There is a period in which I owe my silence,” he said. “It’s not eternal. It’s not going to be forever.”
Despite their differences, I admire Mattis for his respect and loyalty to our country and his duty. He is truly an example of a good man.