The century-old adage stating that one cannot be fired if they’ve already relinquished their position has allowed some of the greatest minds in history to bow out gracefully, and their employers do not have to offer any sort of severance package. Over the course of the last two years of the Trump presidency, we have seen countless cabinet members, staffers, and high-ranking government officials leave their positions in a myriad of ways. Some were fired, some were “highly suggested” to explore other options, and one was offered to be a Disney (DIS) princess and couldn’t pass that up. For one reason or several others, President Donald Trump is witnessing the attrition rate of administration members increase rapidly. On Thursday afternoon, yet another name was added to the list of the resigned.
Defense Secretary James “Mad Dog” Mattis announced his resignation from his position on Thursday afternoon in a letter that some say criticized the military acumen of President Trump. In the letter, Mattis explained that his “views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues,” and eluded to the fact his views deferred from that of the president.
“Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position .”
–Former Defense Secretary James Mattis
Mattis’ resignation letter went on to implicitly attack Trump for not respecting U.S. allies, saying that if we fail to respect the nations we are partnered with, we will not be able to “protect our interests or serve” as the most indispensable nation in the free world. In response to Mattis’ announcement of his eventual departure, President Trump flipped the script and portrayed the resignation as that of retirement, almost the polar opposite of what Mattis was going for. Using his typical disseminator of information, Twitter (TWTR), President Trump tweeted that “General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction, after having served my Administration as Secretary of Defense for the past two years.”
Mattis’ announcement of his resignation comes at a fluctuant time for the country, as President Trump made a decision, almost without warning, to withdraw American troops stationed in Syria, earlier this week. President Trump ordered a rapid withdrawal of some two-thousands United States armed forces members from Syria, to be completed within thirty days. Remaining true to his absence of subtlety in the slightest, President Trump declared that his removal of said troops was due to the celebratory notion that after four, hard-fought years against the Islamic State, (ISIS) the US has emerged largely victorious.
“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”
–President Donald Trump on Twitter
Aside from several concerns relating to the president’s third-person reference to his own administration, many members of the US government, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, attacked President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria. When former president Barack Obama decided to withdraw American troops from Iraq in 2011, people were furious. Mr. Graham expressed similar frustrations regarding Trump’s similar course of action on Wednesday. Mr. Graham claimed that “if Obama had done this, all of would be furious. If Obama had done this, we’d be going nuts right now: How weak, how dangerous.” Somewhere, in an undisclosed location, Barack Obama felt a tinge in his side, as if someone had unsullied his name. Ignoring it, Obama returned to whatever he was doing prior, which, I assume, was enjoying time with his wife and family.
“Five years ago, ISIS was a very powerful and dangerous force in the Middle East, and now the United States has defeated the territorial caliphate. We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign.”
– Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House spokeswoman
The sudden decision to withdraw troops from Syria coupled with the fact that President Trump and Mattis have been at odds with one another over military issues ultimately catalyzed Mattis’ resignation. Only time will tell as to who Trump will appoint as the new Secretary of Defense.
