EVADE, YACE CON LOS MUÑEQUITOS .
. >>> THIS IS AN NBC NEWS SPECIAL
REPORT.
REPORT. HERE’S LESTER HOLT.
>> GOOD DAY FROM LOS ANGELES,
EVERYONE, WE’RE COMING ON THE
AIR WITH BREAKING NEWS.
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, JAMES
MATTIS, THE MAN PRESIDENT TRUMP
ONCE CALLED ONE OF HIS GENERALS
IS RESIGNING.
IS RESIGNING. THE PRESIDENT TWEETED MATTIS WAS
RETIRING BUT MATTIS’S LETTER TO
THE PRESIDENT SAID HE WAS
LEAVING SO THE PRESIDENT COULD
HAVE A DEFENSE SECRETARY WHOSE
VIEWS WERE MORE ALIGNED WITH
HIS.
HIS. HALLIE JACKSON IS AT THE WHITE
HOUSE FOR US.
DID ANYONE SEE THIS COMING?
>> Reporter: THIS DROPPED LIKE A
BOMB SHELL HERE AT THE WHITE
HOUSE, PRESUMABLY OVER THE
PENTAGON WHERE SECRETARY MATTIS
RELEASED THAT LETTER MAKING VERY
CLEAR WHY HE IS DECIDING TO
LEAVE THE ADMINISTRATION, GIVING
A TRANSITION PERIOD UNTIL JUST
ABOUT THE END OF FEBRUARY.
THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE ABRUPT.
HE’S NOT OUT OF HERE TOMORROW,
OBVIOUSLY.
OBVIOUSLY. HE’LL BE ON THROUGH THE
HOLIDAYS, BUT THIS, LESTER,
REALLY IS THE BUILD UP OF MONTHS
OF TENSION BETWEEN SOMEBODY THAT
THE PRESIDENT LIKED A LOT WHEN
HE FIRST NAMED HIM TO HIS
CABINET.
CABINET. THIS IS A PRESIDENT WHO RELIED
ON HIS SO CALLED GENERALS AND
NOW YOU HAVE GENERAL MATTIS
LEAVING, GENERAL KELLY, HIS
CHIEF OF STAFF HERE LEAVING AS
WELL.
WELL. SECRETARY MATTIS AND PRESIDENT
TRUMP DID NOT ALWAYS SEE EYE TO
EYE ON CERTAIN ISSUES NAMELY
WITH THE DRAW DOWN OF TROOPS IN
SYRIA.
SYRIA. THERE IS A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENS NEXT IN AFGHANISTAN AS
WELL, AND WE KNOW THAT AGAIN,
THE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY
MATTIS DON’T SEE EYE TO EYE ON
THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE.
THAT SAID, THE SECRETARY HAS
BEEN SOMEBODY WHO HAS DEFERRED
TO HIS BOSS, THE SORT OF LOYAL
SOLDIER, IF YOU WILL, IF YOU
LOOK AT VIDEO OF THE TWO OF THEM
TOGETHER, WE JUST SAW SECRETARY
MATTIS WITH VICE PRESIDENT PENCE
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. THE TWO OF THEM MEETING,
TALKING, AND I THINK THAT’S
SIGNIFICANT, LESTER, IN THAT IT
SHOWS THE RELATIONSHIP THAT JIM
MATTIS HAD WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF
THE ADMINISTRATION, WITH
LAWMAKERS OVER ON CAPITOL HILL
AS WELL.
AS WELL. HE WAS CONSIDERED, AND I HATE TO
USE THE PHRASE, KIND OF THE
GROWN UP IN THE ROOM BY SOME
CORNERS AND HIS DEPARTURE, WHILE
NOT TOTALLY UNEXPECTED, WE HAD
BEEN HEARING FOR MONTHS OF THE
POSSIBILITY THAT MATTIS MAY
LEAVE, IT CERTAINLY COMES AT A
TIME WHEN ALL EYES ARE ON WHAT
THE PRESIDENT WILL DO NEXT AS IT
RELATES TO FOREIGN POLICY.
SECRETARY MATTIS IN HIS
RESIGNATION LETTER NOTES RUSSIA,
SAYING THAT THESE ARE COUNTRIES,
VLADIMIR PUTIN HAS AN
AUTHORITARIAN VIEW OF THE WORLD
AND THAT SIMPLY DOES NOT ALIGN
WITH THE WAY SECRETARY MATTIS
SEES THE WORLD.
THE LINE ABOUT YOU DESERVE
SOMEBODY WHO IS BETTER ALIGNED
WITH YOUR VISION, I THINK IS SO
SIGNIFICANT HERE.
SIGNIFICANT HERE. WE EXPECT TO GET POTENTIALLY
MORE INFORMATION FROM THE WHITE
HOUSE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF
MINUTES AND WE’LL BRING THAT TO
YOU WHEN WE DO.
>> HALLIE JACKSON, THANKS.
ANDREA MITCHELL, THIS IS THE
STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL’S
BACK.
BACK. I’M MAKING A LIST OF THINGS
MAYBE THEY DIDN’T SEE EYE TO EYE
ON, THE TROOPS AT THE SOUTHERN
BORDER, THE DECISION ON THE
JOINT CHIEF OF STAFF CHAIRMAN,
THE DECISION ON SYRIA, AND AS
HALL
HALL HALLIE MENTIONED THE POSSIBILITY
OF TROOP WITHDRAWALS IN
AFGHANISTAN.
AFGHANISTAN. DO THOSE CREATE A MOSAIC HERE?
>> THEY DO.
I HAVE BEEN TALKING WITH FOREIGN
LEADERS A NATO DEFENSE MINISTER,
ONE OF OUR ALLIES IN RECENT
DAYS.
DAYS. THE TENSION HAS BEEN BUILDING.
AS I TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD AND
COVER THE UN AND OTHER
INTERNATIONAL SUMMITS, THEY HAVE
VIEWED JIM MATTIS AS THE MOST
IMPORTANT SAFEGUARD, THE
GUARDRAIL, IF YOU WILL, ON THIS
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. AT THE WORST TIMES WHEN YOU
HEARD DONALD TRUMP BEFORE THE
WORLD BODY AT THE UNITED NATIONS
TALKING ABOUT ROCKETMAN AND
PEOPLE WERE FEARFUL OF A REAL
CON
CON FLAG RATION, THERE WAS A THAT AS
LONG AS JIM MATTIS WAS THERE,
YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT
THE NUCLEAR BUTTON.
THIS HAS BEEN AN EXTRAORDINARY
TIME, SINCE JOHN BOLTON TOOK
OVER AS NATIONAL SECURITY
ADVISER, WITH HIS FORMER DEPUTY
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER WHO
HAD A REAL WAR GOING WITH
MATTIS.
MATTIS. HE WANTED A JOB AT THE PENTAGON.
IT WAS PERSONAL, IT WAS REALLY
VICIOUS AT TIMES, AND THE VIEW
IS THAT THEY POISONED THE WELL
AGAINST JIM MATTIS AND THAT’S
WHEN THE PRESIDENT REALLY BECAME
MORE AND MORE FRUSTRATED, AS YOU
POINTED OUT, THE SPACE FORCE, HE
WENT ALONG WITH IT, THE TROOPS
TO THE BORDER, HE WENT ALONG
WITH IT.
WITH IT. THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL’S
BACK WAS ABANDONING THE SYRIAN
KURDISH ALLIES IN SYRIA.
THAT AND NOW THE DEMAND TONIGHT
THAT THEY DRAW UP A PLAN FOR A
WITHDRAWAL, PARTIAL TO COMPLETE,
A LIST OF, A MENU OF DEMANDS FOR
DIFFERENT TYPES OF WITHDRAWAL
FROM AFGHANISTAN.
FROM AFGHANISTAN. THAT WAS SAYING TO OUR NATO
ALLIES, AGAIN, YOU CANNOT COUNT
ON THE U.S.
THAT’S WHAT FOREIGN LEADERS ARE
SAYING, BUT JIM MATTIS’S
DEPARTURE WILL BE THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT DEPARTURE FROM THIS
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. THERE IS NO WAY THAT I CAN
OVERSTATE THAT.
OVERSTATE THAT. THE RESPECT THAT HE HAD AROUND
THE WORLD WITH NATO MINISTERS,
FOREIGN MINISTERS AND DEFENSE
MINISTERS, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO
BE REALLY CONCERNED, FRANKLY,
THE SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE
POMPEO AFTER A SPEECH IN
BRUSSELS DOES NOT COMMAND THAT
AUTHORITY, DOES NOT COMMAND THAT
RESPECT.
RESPECT. THE VIEW IS THAT HE IS TOO
WILLING TO COMPLY WITH THIS
PRESIDENT, NOT STAND UP TO HIM,
AND THERE’S GOING TO BE REAL
CONCERN NOW ABOUT THIS
ADMINISTRATION’S FOREIGN POLICY
WITH THE PRESIDENT UNDER
INCREASING FIRE IN THE MUELLER
INVESTIGATION, WORRIED THAT HE
MIGHT DO SOMETHING DRAMATIC,
SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE REALLY
TOLERATED BY THE ALLIES!
>> ANDREA MITCHELL, THANKS.
IT WAS ABOUT AN EIGHT PARAGRAPH
LETTER ANNOUNCING THAT HE WAS
STEPPING DOWN AND FRANKLY MY
EYES AREN’T REALIZE VERY WELL.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY POINTS
HERE THAT POINT TO THE REASONS
BEHIND HIM LEAVING?
>> IT REALLY COMES DOWN, LESTER
TO WHAT ANDREA HAS BEEN TALKING
ABOUT, WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN
TALKING ABOUT, THE DICHOTOMY
BETWEEN THE AWAY SECRETARY
MATTIS SEES THE WORLD AND THE
WAY PRESIDENT TRUMP SEES THE
WORLD.
WORLD. LET ME READ YOU A COUPLE OF KEY
SECTIONS FROM THIS TWO-PAGE
RESIGNATION LETTER THAT WAS
SUBMITTED THE SECRETARY SAYING I
BELIEVE WE MUST BE RESOLUTE AND
UNAMBIGUOUS IN OUR APPROACH TO
THOSE COUNTRIES WHOSE STRATEGIC
INTERESTS ARE INCREASELY
INTENTIONED WITH OURS,
SPECIFICALLY NAME DROPPING CHINA
AND RUSSIA, TWO COUNTRIES WHOM
THE PRESIDENT HAS GONE OUT OF
THE WAY TO EMBRACE IN VARIOUS
WAYS AS IT RELATES EARLY ON IN
HIS ADMINISTRATION TO PRESIDENT
XI, ALTHOUGH HE HAS RAMPED UP
THE TRADE WAR WITH CHINA MORE
RECENTLY AND WITH RUSSIA, AND
THE PRESIDENT’S CONTINUED
INSISTENCE THAT HE WANTS TO BE
OPEN TO A BETTER RELATIONSHIP
WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN.
JIM MATTIS ALSO SAYS THIS,
LESTER, MY VIEWS ON TREATING
ALLIES WITH RESPECT AND ALSO
BEING CLEAR EYED ABOUT MALIGN
ACTORS AND STRATEGIC COMPETITORS
ARE STRONGLY HELD AND INFORMED
BY OVER FOUR DECADES OF
IMMERSION IN THESE ISSUES SO TO
ME, THAT READS AS A DIG AT THE
PRESIDENT TURNING HIS BACK OR AT
LEAST GIVING THE COLD SHOULDER
TO CERTAIN LONG STANDING ALLIES
OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE EU
AND ELSEWHERE, OUR NORTHERN
NEIGHBORS FOR EXAMPLE WITH
CANADA, PERHAPS, AS ANDREA WAS
TALKING ABOUT WITH YOUR NATO
ALLIES THAT IS SOMETHING THAT
JIM MATTIS SAID ENOUGH IS
ENOUGH, AND OF COURSE THERE’S
THAT LINE, BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE
RIGHT TO HAVE A SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE, WHOSE VIEWS ARE BETTER
ALIGNED WITH YOUR OWN, I BELIEVE
IT IS MY OBLIGATION, MY DUTY, MY
RIGHT TO STEP DOWN, AGAIN,
LESTER, THAT WILL BE THE END OF
FEBRUARY TO GIVE A BIT OF A
TRANSITION PERIOD.
TRANSITION PERIOD. >> HALLIE JACKSON AND ANDREA
MITCHELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
AGAIN, THE HEADLINE HERE,
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES
MATTIS IS LEAVING.
HE’S LEAVING HIS POSITION,
RESIGNATION LETTER ISSUED TO THE
WHITE HOUSE, THE PRESIDENT
CALLING HIS RETIREMENT, BUT THE
LETTER FROM GENERAL MATTIS
MAKING IT VERY CLEAR HE IS
LEAVING TO GIVE THE PRESIDENT AN
OPPORTUNITY TO FIND SOMEONE,
PARAPHRASING WHO IS MORE
COMPATIBLE WITH THE PRESIDENT’S
VIEWS.
VIEWS. WE’RE ABOUT 45 MINUTES AWAY FROM
NIGHTLY NEWS IN THE EASTERN AND
CENTRAL TIME ZONE.
WE’RE COVERING THIS MAJOR STORY.
THE OTHER BEG STORY OF THE DAY
IS THE VERY REAL POSSIBILITY OF
A GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN AS SOON
AS LATE TOMORROW NIGHT.
THERE HAD BEEN A DEAL IN WORK
BETWEEN REPUBLICANS AND
DEMOCRATS.
DEMOCRATS. THE PRESIDENT COMING IN AND
SAYING ESSENTIALLY REJECTING IT,
SO THAT IS IN LIMBO.
WE’LL HAVE FULL COVERAGE OF ALL
THE STORIES AND THE DAY’S NEWS
SHORTLY ON NBC NIGHTLY NEWS.
I’M LESTER HOLT IN LOS ANGELES.
GOOD DAY, EVERYONE.