The Trump Administration, the stock markets in turmoil, the generals are out, the government is about to shut down and be in a bit of a crisis mode. This is a presidency in crisis right now. Were going to stay on top of all of the Breaking News. Thanks so much for watching. Erin Burnett Outfront starts erin Burnett Outfront starts right now. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com good evening, im erin burnett. Outfront tonight, the Breaking News, Defense Secretary jim mattis quits. In a stunning letter to the president of the United States, the four Star General Calling OutPresident Trump for not backing American Allies, for supporting authoritarian regimes. I want to read the entire letter, because this is a Turning Point for this administration, for President Trump, and for this country. Here is the letter from Defense Secretary mattis to the president of the United States, which he handed him today, in which he quit. Dear mr. President , i have been privileged to serve as our
countrys 26th Secretary Of Defense, which has allowed me to serve alongside our Men And Women Of The Department in defense of our citizens and our ideals. I am proud of the progress that has been made over the past two years and some of the key goals articulated in our National Defense strategy. Putting the department on a more sound budgetary footing, improving readiness and lethality in our forces, and reforming the departments Business Practices for greater performance. Our troops continue to provide the capabilities needed to prevail in conflict and sustain strong u. S. Global influence. One core belief i have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to the strength of our unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships. While the United States remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role
effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies. Like you, i have said from the beginning that the armed forces of the United States should not be the policemen of the world. Instead, we must use all tools of American Power to provide for the common defense, including providing effective leadership to our alliances. Natos 29 democracies demonstrated that strength in their commitment to fighting alongside us following the 9 11 attack on america. The defeat Isis Coalition of the 74 nations is further proof. Similarly, i believe we must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries who Strategic Interests are increasingly intentioned with ours. It is clear that china and russia, for example, want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model,
gaining Veto Authority over other nations diplomatic, economic, and Security Decisions to promote their own interests at the expense of their neighbors, america, and our allies. That is why we must use all the tools of American Power to provide for the common defense. My views on treating allies with respect and also being cleareyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues. We must do Everything Possible to advance an International Order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity, and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances. Because you have the right to have a Secretary Of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other
subjects, i believe it is right for me to step down from my position. The end date for my tenure is february 28, 2019, a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the departments interests are properly articulated and protected at Upcoming Events to include congressional Posture Hearings and the nato Defense Ministerial meeting in february. Further, that a full transition to a new Defense Secretary of defense occurs well in advance of the transition of chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff in september in order to ensure stability within the department. I pledge my full effort to a smooth transition that ensures the needs and interests of the 2. 15 million Service Members and 732,079 Department Of Defense civilians receive undistracted attention of the department at all times so they can fulfill
their critical round the clock mission to protect the American People. I very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our Men And Women In Uniform. He signs the letter, james n. Mattis. That, of course, is general jim mattis the highest ranking Military Officer to ever lead the Defense Department of the United States of america, a Four Star General with 40 years experience, including in iraq. It is a stunning letter, and it is a moment of history in this country to see a Defense SecretarySay Something like this to a president. Kaitlan collins is outfront at the white house. Kaitlan, it is a moment, such an important moment for this presidency, for this country. How did it go down today . Reporter were told by sources that Defense Secretary mattis came to the white house this afternoon around 3 30 and he met with President Trump in the oval office, just the two of them, oneonone, and mattis
tried to get the president to change his mind to withdraw u. S. Troops from syria that abrupt decision that he made yesterday, but the president rebuffed him. He didnt agree and mattis said he was going to have to resign and he offered the president that letter that youve just read there. Now, the president said that mattis retired in his twitter feed but of Course Mattis is already retired from the military and he makes quite clear in that letter that he is resigning over decisions that the president has made, because he says they do not see eye to eye. Now, things have not been good between the president and james mattis for some time now. They actually used to be quite strong to where mattis would come over and have dinner with the president in the residence quite regularly, almost more than any other staffer, but things had changed. They had grown icy and President Trump was irritated by this narrative that mattis was the adult in the room. In an interview just about two months ago with reuters, the president said he believed mattis was sort of a democrat. That led mattis to shoot back saying he had never registered for a Political Party in his
life, so things between the two of them had clearly deteriorated and the white house is simply framing this as a differing opinion between the two of them, saying its a good thing for the president to disagree with his National Security team sometimes, but erin, this is much more than that. This is the Defense Secretary resigning in protest of a decision that the president made to withdraw troops from syria, and thats a big deal. Now, the question is going to be who will replace james mattis . The white house says that hes going to resign hes going to officially leave his post in february. They say, though, that President Trump is going to pick someone to replace him by the end of the year, erin. All right, kaitlan, thank you very much. I want to go straight now to colonel cedric leighton, former member of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff and david gergen, former adviser to four president s. Leon panetta is also standing by. Let me start with this letter. Your reaction when you hear this letter and you see the defense
secretary of the United States say that they are stepping he is stepping down because allies are not being treated with respect, authoritarian regimes are being empowered, and his beliefs are not in line aligned, in his words, with that of the president of the United States. Well, to me, that is, you know, one of the most important lines in the Resignation Letter. What general mattis, secretary mattis, is saying is that at this juncture, he can not support the president of the United States in the type of Policy Decisions that the president is making unilaterally without consultation with leaders like secretary mattis, and at a certain point, just about any leader of that type is going to leave a position like the secretarys position because they just dont get the traction that they need for their views, and frankly, in order to keep their effectiveness, they have to do something that aligns not only with their personal views but also makes sure that they
can make a statement that says at this juncture, we cannot support an administrations policy of this type. But i think it is absolutely the most salient line in the letter and basically says at this point, our views diverge so much that i cannot work with you at this juncture. David, put this in Historical Context of how significant a moment this is for donald trump. Well, its a significant moment for the world, erin. For over 70 years, stretching back to world war ii, democracies across the west have looked to the United States for leadership and for stability, providing stability, working through our partners to secure the peace, to allow economies to grow, to give people hope. Jim mattis comes out of that tradition. He stands for those values. Thats why people look to him as the man that if all else fails, you could look to him and say,
thank god hes in the white house. Thank god hes a stabilizing force there. This resignation moves us further and further toward america becoming a source of destabilization in the world, nations increasingly look to us with utter amazement about our unpredictability, our sense of commitment to the world order, our sense of, you know, the commitment weve had for all these decades to nato and to other alliances. You know, i think the reaction out there has been, i think people are stunned and i think david is being very district. There were many republicans, Many Democrats who felt that Diplomacy Mattis was the bulwark. Jim mattis was the person that people could say, but he is there and around the world, when all of us would talk to World Leaders or people who advised them, it was, we know jim mattis can get it done. We know he is there. That is what matters, and that is what keeps our confidence in the United States. That was said again and again and again. And now that man is not just leaving, he is writing a letter
in which he references specifically my views on treating allies with respect and being cleareyed about malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held. That is an incredible rebuke. Absolutely. And just a minor aside, i thought it was very telling that the last sentence is he writes, it was an honor to serve the nation and not to he did not mention serving this president. I take a different tack on whats going on, and you know, look, everything is bad. This is not a good thing, but if you view general mattis as an important leader in american history, i think he made an important leadership move today. It was no longer sustainable for him to be Secretary Of Defense. It did not begin with syria. For me, and the issues that i study, it began with the border when he general mattis had to sort of contort himself to justify why 5,000 troops were being deployed to the border. It continued with lgbtq rights in the military and trans rights in the military and now of course syria, which is the most important thing. General mattis has one more duty to this nation, and that is to continue to speak up. I do not want him to go the way of others who have quietly slipped away. I think its his responsibility as the leader we saw today in resigning and presenting to us and the Republican Leadership what has happened to this country and this administration that he continues to speak up. He has one more duty, and i hope he continues to do that. But this had to happen. I am not shocked. I am not nervous. I think this is the beginning of something. I dont know how this ends, but this had to happen. It did. Weve been waiting for someone to resign, and now we should applaud it. On principle. I really think so. It is, though, colonel, im curious, retired general stanley tonight, the kind of leadership
that causes a dedicated patriot like jim mattis to leave should give pause to every american. Republican senator marco rubio, in part, just read general mattis Resignation Letter. It makes it abundantly clear we are headed toward a series of Gravy Policy Errors that will endanger our alliances and empower our adversaries. Sometimes, erin, what you do in a position like this to kind of dove tail with what juliette was saying, it becomes really important to take a stand and as a leader who has such an influential position, the role that general mattis had, that secretary mattis had, was very clear that he was not just a simple, if one could use the term, Secretary Of Defense. What he was was an iconic symbol, and when that symbol leaves the service of a president , there is something wrong with the presidency. And thats what were seeing tonight. I mean, you know, david, one
of the comments here, Senior Administration official earlier, telling jake, the president s decision to withdraw u. S. Troops from syria, which obviously, you know, is the final factor here, right, that is what the final conversation was about, that is the final factor is, quote, a mistake of colossal proportions, and the president fails to see how it will endanger our country. The president , of course, today, said he is going ahead with it. He does not care what everybody says. Well, hes cared damn little about anything for a long time. And hes this is a selfish, egotistical view toward our policies and toward our responsibilities and the world. I agree with juliette that this is were not im not entirely surprised. Weve all been waiting for this moment, asking how long he might last, just hoping he would go on forever. But im very nervous. I just i cant tell you how important it is usually in our government, there are one or two or three people that the
nations of the world look to and say, you know, as long as he or she is there, were in pretty good shape. Thats often the Federal Reserve chairman, you know, like a paul, people knew if there was a crisis, he could handle it better than anybody else. If there is a crisis, who do we look to for stability for judgment, for deliberation, the way we looked to jim mattis. So, you know, heres the thing, juliette. When you look at, you know, in the letter, the letter could not be more clear. It is polite. It is gracious. And it is a rebuke. And it is clear because you have the right to have a Secretary Of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, i believe it is right for me to step down. But the president of the United States tweets out, general jim mattis will be retiring. Okay . My question to you, juliette, is, President Trump knew, right . He knew we were all going to find out the truth, but yet he tried to spin the narrative to retiring. Did he really think he could do
that or is he that misreading the situation so colossally that he did not understand that nobody, not even fox news, which at first kept retiring on the bottom of their screen and eventually changed it to resigning, nobody could go along with what he put out there, which is false. I mean, i think thats right. I think, you know, and i cant psychoanalyze the president but i think what ive come to believe is that the president s only value is allegiance to him. And so, he has to create constant narratives that he let mattis go, that this person wanted to do this, and that allegiance becomes the way that the president thin