Donald Trump isn’t the president of anything
“President” Donald Trump is sending our nation and the world into a tailspin ahead of Christmas, with announcements that he plans to withdraw troops from Syria and potentially Afghanistan, and then backing down from agreeing to sign a continuing resolution bill to avoid a government shutdown because Congress will not agree to slats or a wall.
In the midst of the chaos, his Secretary of Defense, James “Mad Dog” Mattis, resigned. When someone with the nickname “Mad Dog” leaves an administration and we worry about its continued stability as a result, it says much. Mattis is a longtime military man and he exercises decorum. However, reading his resignation letter, it is a direct “F you” to the president. In the letter, Mattis makes it clear he does not agree with Trump on where he is headed on various fronts, although Mattis does state that he agrees with Trump that “the armed forces of the United States should not be the policeman of the world.”
After more agreement on how working with other allies has worked, he then turns to his reasons for leaving, stating: “Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position.”
General Mattis’ letter is very subtle. But it came a day after Trump announced his plans to pull the troops from Syria, despite military intelligence including Mattis suggesting that is not a prudent move. Add to that Trump’s treatment of the troops with respect to the border, and we have a full understanding of why Mattis made it very clear that his views are not “aligned” with Trump. We are in dangerous times in this nation, thanks to a man who is doing all in his power to try to steer the focus from his criminal enterprise to the chaos he is self-creating. We must continue to remain vigilant in limiting his power and reining him in.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.