Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Wednesday took a less extreme stance on North Korea than President Donald Trump, who issued a number of zig-zagging, escalating statements after the nation fired a missile over Japan earlier this week.
“We are never out of diplomatic solutions,” Mattis told pool reporters, as quoted by Reuters.
Mattis was scheduled to meet with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-Moo at the Pentagon.
“We continue to work together, and the minister and I share a responsibility to provide for the protection of our nations, our populations, and our interests,” he said.
Trump on Wednesday morning complained on Twitter about negotiations with North Korea and declared, “Talking is not the answer!”
The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2017
His tweet was an escalation from a more measured statement the White House released Tuesday after North Korea fired a missile over Japan. Trump declared then that “all options are on the table.”
Poor fuckers. Always like the guy behind the elephants at the end of the circus parade…cleaning up shit
Glad to hear it, General. Now explain that to your idiot boss.
Are we great again yet?
Particularly ironic coming from Mattis, who has always been considered an “aggressive” warhawk.
Between this and the freeze on Donnie’s transgender ban, I think we’ll shortly be seeing a tweet from Hair Furor saying “Mattis has my complete confidence”. followed by the immediate strategic retreat of General Mattis from the Oval Trailer.
The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2017