White House National Security Adviser John Bolton is reportedly behind rumors that Defense Secretary James Mattis is on his way out the door, Foreign Policy reported.
A former senior defense official told Foreign Policy that Bolton and his deputy, Mira Ricardel, think Mattis is “not ideologically aligned” with President Donald Trump. The two are reportedly behind whispers that his departure is imminent.
“(They want) to build the sense that he is done for,” the former defense official told Foreign Policy. “They have the knives out.”
For months, reports have surfaced that Trump and Mattis no longer get along and that Mattis is on his way out of the administration, which has all been denied by the Defense Department.
During an interview with “60 Minutes” earlier this month, Trump gave his strongest indication yet that there may be truth to some of the rumors that he and Mattis’s relationship is disintegrating. He called Mattis a “Democrat,” a clear insult in the Trump playbook.
