Free Republic

“Since Washington crossed the Delaware at Christmas in 1776, American troops have missed holidays at home to defend our experiment in democracy,” Mattis said in a 20-second video. “To all you lads and lasses holding the line in 2018, on land, at sea, or in the air, thanks for keeping the faith. Merry Christmas and may God hold you safe,” Mattis concluded. The video was recorded Dec. 19, one day before Mattis submitted his scathing resignation letter

[The outgoing defense secretary had a good rapport with the 2016 Democratic nominee. Not so much with the president he ultimately worked for.] During the 2016 presidential campaign, James Mattis predicted that he would be courted to serve in a Hillary Clinton administration in the likelihood that she would win the presidency. Instead, Mattis ended up working nearly two years as Secretary of Defense for Donald Trump, a president who routinely undermined his own national security team and would mock Mattis by calling him a “Democrat” or “Moderate Dog.” Mattis' resignation on Thursday, though abrupt, came as no surprise to...