It’s of course within Trump’s purview to override Mattis on withdrawing troops from Syria, the catalyst for Mattis’s resignation. Mattis says Trump is insufficiently “resolute and unambiguous” toward countries — Russia and China — that are promoting their own interests over ours. Trump, Mattis says, is turning a blind eye to rising authoritarianism even though these “malign actors” are trying to undermine our interests. Endless lies and bad faithThis is also plainly the case when it comes to Trump’s wall. Everyone knows the wall has nothing whatsoever to do with border security.

Source: Washington Post December 21, 2018 15:20 UTC