Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis drew laughs at President Trump’s expense as this year’s keynote speaker at the white-tie Al Smith Dinner.
At the charity gala in New York City, Mattis made jokes about a heated confrontation between Trump and the Democrats at the White House a day earlier in which his name was invoked.
“I’m not just an overrated general. I am the greatest, the world’s most overrated general,” Mattis said Thursday evening. The retired four-star Marine Corps general’s name was brought up by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer during the discussion Wednesday about Trump’s decision to move U.S. troops away from the northern Syrian border. Trump is said to have called Mattis “the world’s most overrated general” in response.
“I’m honored to be considered that by Donald Trump because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress. So I guess I’m the Meryl Streep of generals, and frankly, that sounds pretty good to me,” Mattis said, referring to the Academy Award-winning actress.
“And you do have to admit that, between me and Meryl, at least we’ve had some victories,” he added.
Mattis, 69, resigned from office last year over disagreements with Trump over U.S. policy in Syria. Mattis didn’t support drawing back troops from the region, while Trump did.
The next joke Mattis cracked was about Trump’s lack of service during the Vietnam War. He set it up by saying he was not bothered by Trump’s comments about him. “I earned my spurs on the battlefield,” he said, before throwing in the punchline: “Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor.” Trump received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, the first four being for college and the fifth for heel spurs.
It wasn’t all jokes for Mattis, who took on a more somber tone towards the end of his performance in talking about civility in America and the situation in Syria.
“We owe a debt to all who have fought for liberty, including those who tonight serve in the far corners of our planet. Among them the American men and women supporting our Kurdish allies,” Mattis said to applause. Last week, Trump ordered a pullout of U.S. troops from northern Syria, which was was quickly followed by Turkey launching a military offensive against Syrian Kurdish militias who helped in the fight against the Islamic State.
A five-day cease-fire between Turkey and Kurdish forces was announced by Vice President Mike Pence earlier in the day, requiring Kurdish forces withdraw from a nearly 20-mile wide safe zone south of the Turkish border in Syria.
