White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Thursday night that President Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis have a “good relationship,” despite Mattis’s departure, which included a statement pointing to policy differences and suggesting Trump had harmed relationships with allies.
“They had a long conversation, but again, they have a good relationship and we expect them to continue to have a good relationship. The president has a great deal of respect for Secretary Mattis and he is going to stay on for another couple of months, I think that is a great indicator of the type of cooperation they have,” Sanders said at the White House.
Sanders said several times during her remarks that Trump and Mattis are on good terms despite not agreeing on foreign policy and other issues.
“He and the president have a good relationship, but sometimes they disagree,” said Sanders. “That doesn’t mean you don’t have a good relationship with somebody. He was laying out the reasons he was stepping down from his post.”
Trump announced Thursday evening the four-star Marine Corps general would be retiring in February.
Minutes later, Mattis said he was resigning over the need for a Defense secretary “whose views are better aligned” with Trump’s.
The parting of ways comes a day after Trump said he was withdrawing all U.S. troops in Syria and on the same day reports emerged that he intended to draw down troops in Afghanistan.
