President Trump blasted former Defense Secretary James Mattis Wednesday night, saying he had the “honor” of firing him hours after the general accused the president of abusing his power.
Trump lodged his attack a Mattis in a series of tweets at about 9 p.m., calling him “the world’s most overrated General.”
“Probably the only thing Barack Obama & I have in common is that we both had the honor of firing Jim Mattis, the world’s most overrated General,” Trump wrote in the first tweet. “I asked for his letter of resignation, & felt great about it.”
“His primary strength was not military, but rather personal public relations,” Trump added in a second tweet.
“I gave him a new life, things to do, and battles to win, but he seldom ‘brought home the bacon’. I didn’t like his ‘leadership’ style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!” he wrote.
In an op-ed in The Atlantic published hours earlier, Mattis accused Trump of actively trying to divide the country and abusing his power.
“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try,” Mattis wrote in the op-ed.
“Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership,” he added.