U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly have denied making insulting and critical remarks about President Donald Trump behind his back, as reported in a new book by famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward.
“This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration’s many successes,” said Kelly.
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Excerpts from the book Fear: Trump in the White House paint a picture of an administration riddled with tension and chaos amid impulsive and profane outbursts from Trump.
In one episode, Trump reportedly questioned why the U.S. was spending resources in South Korea, prompting Mattis to tell confidantes that the president “had the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader.”
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Mattis is also said to have disregarded Trump’s instructions to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, telling Trump he would come up with a plan before going with a decidedly more measured approach to air strikes in Syria.
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But Mattis dismissed those reports as the products “of someone’s rich imagination,” rather than an account of anything resembling the truth.
“In serving this administration, the idea that I would show contempt for the elected Commander-in-Chief, President Trump, or tolerate disrespect to the office of the President from within our Department of Defense, is a product of someone’s rich imagination,” Mattis said.
Mattis also extolled the culture of open debate and discussion that he said existed in White House deliberations on defense policy. He said that very culture was responsible for successes such as the “near annihilation of the ISIS caliphate,” the balancing-out of burdens among NATO members and the repatriation of the remains of American service members from North Korea.
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Meanwhile, Kelly denied the book’s claims that he called Trump an “idiot,” labelled his administration as “crazytown” and that he expressed regret taking up a job in the White House.
“The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true, in fact it’s exactly the opposite,” said Kelly, adding that he has “an incredibly candid and strong relationship” with Trump.
Trump said Mattis’ and Kelly’s statements proved that the reports in the book weren’t credible.
“Their quotes were made up frauds, a con on the public,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Likewise other stories and quotes.”
Trump also asked whether Woodward was a “Dem operative,” and suggested that the timing of the book’s release may have been politically motivated, with U.S. midterm elections only two months away.
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