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President Trump Reveals Something About Mattis’ Political Views

President Donald J. Trump recently sat down for a rare 60 Minutes interview set to air tonight. In previews, host Lesley Stahl attempted to grill the commander-in-chief over what some say is a chaotic presidency replete with staff turnover but President Trump describes this as “fake news.” Stahl then asked specifically about Secretary of Defense James Mattis at which point President Trump says that the General is “sort of a Democrat and that he may leave, but that would not necessarily indicate any problems in their relationship.

Stahl pressed the president if he was concerned with how many personnel changes his presidency has had its first two years in office. In response, President Trump slammed speculation of trouble was “so false.” He also added, “I’m changing things around, and I’m entitled to. I have people now on standby that will be phenomenal. They’ll come into the administration. They’ll be phenomenal.”

When asked about Gen. Mattis, the president dismissed any concerns as well. “I think he’s sort of a Democrat if you want to know the truth,” Trump said. (Read more from “President Trump Reveals Something About Mattis’ Political Views” HERE)

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Report: Washington Didn’t Even Tell Marine Gen. He Was Being Replaced

United States Marine Corps Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis was notified that he was being replaced as commander of U.S. Central Command not by a phone call from Washington, but by a note passed to him by an aide, according to Foreign Policy’s Thomas E. Ricks.

From Ricks’ report: “… General Mattis was travelling and in a meeting when an aide passed him a note telling him that the Pentagon had announced his replacement as head of Central Command. It was news to him — he hadn’t received a phone call or a heads-up from anyone at the Pentagon or the White House.

Ricks says he inquired further into this report. This is what he was told: “…the commander-in-chief can make a change whenever he wants and give no reason. That is right and proper under our system of government.

But there’s also the matter of common courtesy to an uncommon man. Here is what one person wrote to me: “What message does it send to the Services when the one leader known for his war-fighting rather than diplomatic or bureaucratic political skills is retired early via one sentence in the Pentagon’s daily press handout? Even in battle, Mattis was inclusive of all under his command. He took the time to pull together his driver and guards after every day’s rotation on the battlefield, telling them what he thought he had learned and asking them for input. Surely senior administration officials could have found the time to be gracious. But they didn’t.”

President Obama appointed Gen. Mattis as commander of U.S. Central Command in the summer of 2010. He was quickly confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Read more from this story HERE.