Defense Secretary James Mattis said Monday that he thought “nothing at all” of President Trump saying in an interview aired Sunday that Mattis “may leave” the administration.
“Nothing at all. I’m on his team,” Mattis told reporters during a trip to Vietnam after being asked what he made of Trump’s comments.
{mosads}”We have never talked about me leaving. And as you can see right here, we’re on our way. We just continue doing our job,” he continued.
Mattis added that he hadn’t spoken with Trump since the interview aired on “60 Minutes.” Trump also said in the interview that Mattis is “sort of a Democrat.”
“I read what’s in your papers about it, but going through them, I haven’t gotten through them all yet,” Mattis told reporters. “We continue in the Department of Defense to do our job. It’s no problem.”
Trump told CBS’s Lesley Stahl that he was unsure about Mattis’s future in the administration but said the two have a “very good relationship.”
“I had lunch with him two days ago. I have a very good relationship with him. It could be that he is,” Trump said when he was asked if Mattis might leave. “I think he’s sort of a Democrat, if you want to know the truth. But General Mattis is a good guy. We get along very well. He may leave. I mean, at some point, everybody leaves. Everybody. People leave. That’s Washington.”
For weeks, Mattis’s departure has been the subject of speculation, with multiple news outlets reporting that Trump has been weighing potential replacements. Trump has denied those reports.