Meeting Cabinet Contenders, Trump Praises General Mattis
Meeting Cabinet Contenders, Trump Praises General Mattis by Michael Schmidt and Michael Shear, New York Times
President-elect Donald J. Trump hinted strongly on Sunday that he would pick James N. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, to be defense secretary, heaping praise on the general for the second day in a row as he sought to complete his choices for a national security team.
The president-elect, who met with the general on Saturday at Trump National Golf Club here in Bedminster, wrote on Twitter: “General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, who is being considered for Secretary of Defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General’s General!”
That followed similar remarks to reporters on Saturday after the meeting at the golf club, where Mr. Trump is sitting down with advisers and interviewing what he called “numerous patriots” throughout the weekend. In brief comments on Saturday, Mr. Trump called General Mattis “just a brilliant, wonderful man.”
“What a career — we are going to see what happens, but he is the real deal,” the president-elect added.
In addition to his praise of General Mattis, Mr. Trump used other Twitter posts early Sunday to lash out at his critics on Broadway and in late-night television. But in remarks to reporters and in appearances on Sunday morning news programs, Mr. Trump’s advisers sought to focus on the efforts to staff the new administration…
