Mattis Scorches Trump After His Response to the George Floyd Protests: ‘He Tries to Divide Us’

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis is breaking his silence and criticizing President Donald Trump for his response to the protests that have erupted after the death of George Floyd.

“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” Mattis wrote in a statement released Wednesday evening.

Mattis urged Americans to not be “distracted by a small number of lawbreakers.”

He continued, “The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.”

Additionally, he turned to the controversial decision to use National Guard troops and law enforcement officers to disperse protesters who had gathered in front of the White House on Monday evening. 

He wrote, “Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.”

On Monday, Trump said he would deploy the U.S. Military to cities to help quell violent demonstrations. But Mattis raised concerns that deploying the military in the U.S. “sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society.”

Additionally, Mattis blasted Trump as “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people.”