Former CNN host Soledad O’Brien criticized former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who has begun taking swipes at President Trump.
Mattis’ comments come days before the release of his book, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead, next week.
In an essay adapted from the forthcoming book, the 68-year-old retired Marine Corps general said he resigned in December over policy differences with Trump.
“I did as well as I could for as long as I could,” he wrote.
O’Brien deplored Mattis’ comments, calling him “Whiny Puppy Mattis.”
“One interesting thing Trump has revealed is the utter lack of leadership and courage that those in leadership positions pretend they have — but fully lack,” she tweeted Wednesday.
Whiny Puppy Mattis: “I did as well as I could for as long as I could.”
One interesting thing Trump has revealed is the utter lack of leadership and courage that those in leadership positions pretend they have—but fully lack.
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) August 29, 2019
Mattis enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve at age 18 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps when he graduated from Central Washington University in 1971.
He led an infantry battalion during the Persian Gulf War in Iraq in 1991, as well as an expeditionary brigade during the War in Afghanistan after the 9/11 terror attack. He was then stationed in Iraq during the war there.
He later served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Command for Transformation and commander of the U.S. Central Command. Mattis retired in 2013. He was Trump’s Pentagon chief for nearly two years.
Mattis said in an interview with the Atlantic that he “had no choice but to leave.”
“I want people to understand why I couldn’t stay. I’ve been informed by four decades of experience, and I just couldn’t connect the dots anymore.”
