Military Times: Trump Now Calls Mattis ‘Moderate Dog’

Military Times reports that President Donald Trump now calls Defense Secretary James Mattis “moderate dog” as opposed to his nickname in the press, “Mad Dog.”

Mattis’ consultant Travis Snyder is putting together a primary 2020 presidential campaign linked to Bill Kristol and Nikki Haley, according to Mattis’ own aides. Mattis has pushed for 100,000 ground troops in Iraq and is lobbying hard to go forward with the Department of Defense deal with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

Leo Shane III and Tara Copp reported for Military Times:

Rumors that President Donald Trump is considering replacing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis continue to grow, buoyed by a new report claiming the commander in chief has taken to calling the former Marine general “Moderate Dog” Mattis behind closed doors out of frustration with his measured political positions.

Mattis, a wildly popular figure in military circles, is known to many as “Mad Dog,” a nickname stemming from his frequent macho comments like: “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” Mattis himself has said he is not a fan of the name, calling it more of a media creation than a reflection of his personality.

But Trump has not been shy about using the “Mad Dog” nickname in public speeches, often referring to it as proof that he picked a battle-hardened and aggressive leader for the Defense Department.

A report by Politico Wednesday night said Trump is now souring on that view, believing that Mattis is more moderate than he had hoped. The new “Moderate Dog” moniker suggests that Mattis could leave or be dismissed from the top Pentagon post in coming months, as Trump looks for Cabinet members more closely aligned with his policies.

Military Times passage ends

Defense Secretary James Mattis is reportedly working on a $5-10 billion dollar deal to partner the Department of Defense with Jeff Bezos’ Amazon corporation.

A firm has already been paid to transfer DOD information onto the Amazon cloud. As President Donald Trump wrangles with Amazon’s Bezos, Mattis becomes more visibly confrontational with the president.

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