General James Mattis hilariously calls himself the 'Meryl Streep of generals' after Donald Trump claims he's 'overrated'
He was one of Donald Trump's earlier men in the administration who lasted the distance. James Mattis was picked as the first secretary of defense by the president but his tenure got over in less than two years' time.
The 69-year-old Mattis resigned from his post over differences with Trump on Washington's Syria policy last year after the president came up with a stubborn decision to remove his country's troops from the war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation.
Though Trump did not eventually remove the troops earlier, he did so on October 6, leaving serious repercussions in the region. The US president's hasty decision left the local allies — Kurds — unprotected against the Turkish military and he drew flak from all quarters — opposition, allies and even his own party.
The American withdrawal also saw the release of Islamic State militants who had been imprisoned, thereby raising the security threat manifold and undermining Washington's own war on terror.
As Trump faced mounting criticism over his Syria act, he slammed Mattis as the "world’s most over-rated general", according to a report in the Washington Post on Wednesday, October 16.
He said this during a closed door meeting between the president and congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recalled Mattis' recent interview on NBC News last Sunday, October 13, where he said that the IS will only see a revival if there is a lack of continued strategy against it.
Trump then interrupted Schumer and said that Mattis was not tough enough and that he succeeded in capturing the IS militants faster than the former defense secretary would have thought.
When Mattis, a former four-star Marine Corps general, was asked about Trump’' views on him at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York on Thursday, October 17, he laughed it off and even said that he is not only an overrated general but the greatest overrated general.
Trump called Merryl Streep an overrated actress
The witty veteran then brought up the name of Meryl Streep, one of America's most revered actresses, whom Trump has belittled in the past as an "overrated actress" as well.
"So I would just tell you, I'm honored to be considered that by Donald Trump because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress. So I guess I'm the Meryl Streep of generals and frankly that sounds pretty good to me," Mattis said.
"And, you do have to admit, between me and Meryl, at least we've had some victories," he added.
Streep, an Academy Awards and Golden Globe winner, earned Trump's wrath after she had criticized him as a president-elect when he won the 2016 election.
The 70-year-old had spoken about Trump mocking a disabled reporter in her speech and said the businessman-politician used his position to "bully" people.
The very next day, Trump called the 'Laundromat' actress one of Hollywood’s most over-rated actresses and even taunted her as "a Hillary flunky who lost big".
Mattis said that Trump's comments didn’t cause him any concern and joked that the only person in the military who the president didn't think to be overrated is "Colonel Sanders", the founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food chain.