Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters Monday that he didn’t take President Donald Trump’s comments about him possibly leaving the administration as an indication his future was uncertain.
On Sunday, Trump said in an interview that Mattis “may leave,” causing speculation among some about what the President was implying. When asked about Trump’s remarks, the defense secretary said, “Nothing at all. I’m on his team.”
“We have never talked about me leaving. And as you can see right here, we’re on our way. We just continue doing our job,” added Mattis, who was on a trip to Vietnam. He further noted that he hadn’t spoken to Trump since Sunday’s “60 Minutes” interview, during which the President also called Mattis “sort of a Democrat.” He nonetheless said the two of them have a “very good relationship.”
“I had lunch with him two days ago. I have a very good relationship with him. It could be that he is,” he responded to questions about whether Mattis was going to leave the administration. “I think he’s sort of a Democrat if you want to know the truth. But General Mattis is a good guy. We get along very well. He may leave. I mean, at some point, everybody leaves. Everybody. People leave. That’s Washington.”
In trying to dispel rumors about his possible leaving, the defense secretary said, “I read what’s in your papers about it, but going through them, I haven’t gotten through them all yet. We continue in the Department of Defense to do our job. It’s no problem.”
He later told reporters that Trump had assured him during an in-flight conversation that he was “100 percent” safe. However, Mattis’s departure was the subject of speculation even before the interview, with several media outlets reporting on it, though President Trump denies the rumors.
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