Former Defense Secretary James Mattis denounces President Trump as a threat to democracy in extraordinary statement
Trump is needlessly dividing the country and"militarizing" America's response to the protests, Mattis wrote in a statement published by The Atlantic magazine. The former general also offered a full-throated endorsement of the demonstrations, which have unfolded across the U.S. after George Floyd, an African American man, was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer.
Noting his own oath to uphold the Constitution when he first joined the military, Mattis wrote: "Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath 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."
"We must reject any thinking of our cities as a 'battlespace' that our uniformed military is called upon to 'dominate'," Mattis wrote. He said the decision to deploy the military"erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Former Defense Secretary Mattis breaks silence and tears into Trump: 'He tries to divide us'Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis ripped into his former boss President Donald Trump in a scathing Wednesday night statement.
Read more »
Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Says Trump ‘Tries to Divide Us’Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, in a statement Wednesday, said: “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people.”
Read more »
Former Defense Secretary Mattis blasts President Trump: '3 years without mature leadership'BREAKING: In rare public comments James Mattis, President Trump's former Defense Secretary, has blasted the commander in chief for how he has handled the wave of protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer.
Read more »
Mattis tears into Trump: 'We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership'Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis castigated President Donald Trump as 'the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people' in a forceful rebuke of his former boss as nationwide protests have intensified over the death of George Floyd.
Read more »
James Mattis Issues Blistering Statement About Donald Trump: “He Tries To Divide Us”“We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort,” Mattis said. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society.”
Read more »
Russian-American Masha Gessen Sees Putin In Trump, Trouble In FutureIn uncertain times, aspiring autocrats promise a return to greatness, while reaching for more power and permanence. In 'Surviving Autocracy,' Russian-American Masha Gessen suggests this is President Trump's strategy, modeling himself after Vladimir Putin.
Read more »