2020 Presidential Election

[GMDino]

(06-04-2020, 11:31 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Here is his thought process on this, though. He hired those people at the behest of the Republican leadership. They weren't people he would have personally chosen because he wants only extremely loyal people to be in his sphere. But he was pushed to hire these people because Republican leadership wanted them in the thick of things.

While taking full credit for the hires...lol.

General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, who is being considered for Secretary of Defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General's General!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2016

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/01/james-mattis-secretary-of-defense-donald-trump

Quote:Donald Trump has selected the retired marine general James Mattis to serve as his first Pentagon chief, the first of his national-security appointments that will reassure the establishment defense circles Trump scorned on the campaign trail.
Trump made the announcement at an Ohio rally on the first day for his “thank you tour”.


“I don’t want to tell you to this, I refuse to tell you, don’t let it outside of this room. I will not tell you that one of our great great generals, don’t let it outside, we are going to appoint Mad Dog Mattis as our secretary of defense and we’re not announcing it until Monday so don’t tell it to anybody.”


Mattis, has deep wells of support on Capitol Hill and in the military. Unlike Trump’s other announced nominees, Mattis is unlikely to receive a contentious confirmation hearing for the defense secretary job, even though he will need a special waiver from Congress because he has not been out of uniform for the requisite seven years.


The nomination comes after Mattis met with Trump at the businessman’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, last month.

The retired general declined to talk to the media at the time, but Trump praised him. “All I can say is he is the real deal. The real deal,” he said.
The appointment of Mattis, which had been first reported by the Washington Post on Thursday afternoon, was initially denied by Trump’s transition team. In a tweet written three hours before Trump took the stage in Cincinnati, senior communications adviser Jason Miller insisted, “No decision has been made yet with regard to Secretary of Defense. #TrumpTransition.”

Mattis’s appointment comes with much establishment hope attached. Many in Republican national security circles who opposed Trump have faith that the forceful Mattis can moderate Trump and bureaucratically neutralize Mike Flynn, the president-elect’s pick for national security adviser. But Mattis has enough points of policy agreement with Trump to make his integration with the Trump hardliners as strong a possibility.

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“Jim Mattis has a deep respect and affection for the men and women who put their lives on the line for our country, and the allies who help us. He’ll be a terrific secretary of defense,” said Kori Schake, a former defense adviser to John McCain, a prominent “never Trump” conservative, and [url=http://www.hooverpress.org/Warriors-and-Citizens-P627.aspx]Mattis’s co-editor on a recent book.

Unusually, days before the announcement, McCain released a statement that all but openly campaigned for Mattis’s appointment, calling the retired general “impressive” and an “extraordinary leader”. As the chairman of the Senate armed services committee, McCain’s endorsement will be critical to Mattis’ confirmation.

Seeing McCain backed him I see why Trump is more angry now...