Mattis responds to Trump criticism: ‘I guess I’m the Meryl Streep of generals’ – By Marina Pitofsky (The Hill) / Oct 17 2019
Former Defense secretary James Mattis responded to the President Trump calling him “the world’s most overrated general” during a meeting with Congressional leaders Wednesday.
© The Hill Mattis responds to Trump criticism: ‘I guess I’m the Meryl Streep of generals’
“I’m not just an overrated general. I’m the greatest, the world’s most overrated,” Mattis told the audience at the Al Smith Memorial Foundation dinner Thursday. Mattis was the keynote speaker at the 74th annual event.
“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 continued.
But Mattis didn’t stop there with his jabs at the president.
“And you do have to admit that between me and Meryl, at least we’ve had some victories,” he joked.
"I’m not just an overrated general. I’m the most overrated general," Mattis says. "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." pic.twitter.com/Hzpe5lUeje
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 18, 2019
Trump reportedly called Mattis “the world’s most overrated general,”during a tense meeting Wednesday with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) among others. Schumer reportedly read a quote from Mattis’s Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press,” during which he warned that “ISIS will resurge” if the U.S. does not keep forces in northern Syria.
Trump pulled troops from the area last week.
“He wasn’t tough enough,” Trump reportedly said at the Wednesday meeting. “I captured ISIS. Mattis said it would take two years. I captured them in one month.”
Trump called Streep “one of the most over-rated” actresses in Hollywood” in a tweet after his election, after Streep criticized Trump in a speech at the Golden Globes.
Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017
