Posted on 06/05/2020 2:14:03 PM PDT by Beave Meister
Hearing what Gen “Mad Dog” Mattis had to say today, I am reminded of something I learned about Trump’s pick for Sec Def during the transition, as the President-elect was about to take the oath of office. Several sources inside the transition team confirmed...
They were shocked by who Mattis wanted as his number 2 - he was pushing for Michelle Flournoy, the same person HRC had reportedly picked to lead DOD in her Administration, acc to sources/articles at the time, such as one Politico published in Nov 2016. They put it this way:
“THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION - HILLARY CLINTON’S HISTORY-MAKING DEFENSE SECRETARY IN WAITING”.
Always wondered why Mattis would want someone like that at his side? Seems unlikely she would have been loyal to the President she would have served - was he?
Men like him knew Gen Mike Flynn was loyal to the US not Russia, yet they said nothing? As Sec Def, Mattis would have had access to all intelligence. What happened to that military code of honor in Flynn’s case? What about his Commander-in-Chief? He was silent then - but not now.
(Excerpt) Read more at threadreaderapp.com ...
He made-up his own nicknames--who does that? before We guided his guys into Iraq I told him about the complexity of identifying the enemy from civilians and he said 'we'll sort em out after we kill em' and I said 'I wouldn't recommend that technique' he laughed and said 'that's cause your not a marine' -- afterword my SGM said 'that guy is f@#ked up' and that was the first time I started worrying about how we were prosecuting the war. We we should never have brought in all the conventional forces, we were successful in A because we used Afghans--unfortunately Generals like him didn't like that and wanted to create their 'Patton' moments in history
Trump surprisingly has made some pretty bad personnel choices.
Agreed, and he has paid the price for almost every one.
Agree
Maybe, but I think Trump thought they would be patriots first. It’s a hard lesson to learn that people this high-up in the federal government would sell out, or destroy, their own country to get their way.
Never liked “Tame Dog” Mattis. Always thought he was out of his element at the pentagon and that he thought he was secretary of state trying to usurp Trump’s foreign policy jurisdiction.
I love Trump, but this is showing why past political leadership is good for the resume regarding POTUS. Politics isn’t the business world, and vice versa.
Trump had no idea how much he was up against, and though he recognized the Swamp, in reality, it’s a damn Ocean.
For all his supposed experience, Mattis wasn’t too bright when he allowed Omarosa Manigault to record their conversation in the White House. Security breach, and he let it happen.
Never trust a general with a huge P.R. department.
I didn’t trust Mattis as soon as I figured out what self-aggrandizing glory hound he was, constantly using underlings and lackies to push out his bogus “Mad Dog” legend.
I don’t there’s much for choices. During 8 years of fundamental transformation, Obama evidently cleaned house.
Meanwhile Trump still has unfilled positions because he went from the Russia bs to impeachment. You can blame repubs for that to some extent. McConnell said no, you can’t get anyone through right now. Repubs were around while Obama was prez and they didn’t do squat.
Yes. He trusts people at their word, and therefore fails to have them vetted. He should have learned by now that this is not a business environment. This is back-stabbing, agenda-driven, politics.
The fromer military officers I know that crossed paths with Mattis say - Mattis is all about Mattis. His brand is all he cares about.
Ironically, one thing I actually believed from his reality show that he was good at picking people. He is not.
Maybe he was banging her on the side.
Of course, this will trigger another round of impeachment...
President Trump is a Washington outsider. In an interview a couple of weeks ago, in response to a question about having to fire so many of his picks, he said that he before he was elected president he had only been to Washington 17 times.
I’d like to see any other outsider do a better job instead of criticize as if it’s easy.
Yes, and as Morton Blackwell always would remind us, personnel is policy.
He needs a better vetting process.
Pence is an old government hand. I’m surprised he didn’t warn the president about this.
Pence ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. He’s an ass-kissing, empty-suit, politician.
What has amazed me about Trump is he seemed, for a VERY long time, how evil and demented the Democrats and the professional bureaucracy is...how self-serving and self-enriching and criminally deviant they are right down to their soul-less cores. How on Earth could he have not understood this? Practically everyone here knows it, it’s in plain sight for anyone who looks. Trump didn’t understand this coming in, how he didn’t I’ll never understand.
I think he was insulated by his massive wealth...and thought it was all just politics because he had rubbed elbows with so many of them socially for decades...politicians always kiss the ass, wink and nod with the Uber-wealthy. It’s how they grift. But he didn’t grasp the evil down deep in them. And that is the root of his many poor personnel choices, I think. He took advice...from THEM, them who wanted to kill him as quickly and neatly as possible.
I guess all we can be glad for is that he surely KNOWS now. But his first term was only a shadow of what it could have been had he understood their rotted, fetid souls going in.
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