FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES MATTIS privately told Bob Woodward that he agreed with the assessment presented in his book Warwho portrays Donald Trump as a unique and menacing threat to the country.

In an interview on The Bulwark Podcast On Thursday, Woodward said he recently received an email from Mattis, who served under Trump before resigning in protest. In the email, Mattis supported the assessment of Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom Woodward called “the most dangerous person ever.”

In his book, Woodward recounts how he was approached by Milley at a meeting in 2023 at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, and Milley implored him to “stop” Trump. Milley called Trump, under whom he also served, “fascist to the core”!

Mattis also attended this event in 2023.

“He thinks the book is important,” Woodward said of the email he received from Mattis. “He believes it’s true. And it was kind of like, ‘Hey, I get it.’ It was the strongest affirmation.”

Asked specifically whether this was a confirmation of the book's warnings about Trump, Woodward replied: “Yes, for sure. And an acknowledgment of that process that explicitly tries to say, 'Let's make sure we don't try to downplay the threat, because the threat is high.'”

The comments to Woodward provide a rare glimpse into Mattis' perspective on the current election. The former defense secretary remained silent as Trump emerged as the Republican presidential candidate, securing a 50/50 chance of winning back the presidency. Mattis did not respond to a request for comment.

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Mattis resigned from his position in the Trump administration in December 2018, following the then-president's decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria and a series of disagreements over Trump's approach to international alliances.

“I have gained four decades of experience and simply could no longer put the connections together” he would explain later.

In the period that followed, he occasionally showed his contempt for Trump. Amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, Mattis castigated Trump is “the first president in my lifetime who doesn't try to unite the American people – and doesn't even pretend to try. Instead, he's trying to divide us.”

After the riots of January 6th Mattis made another statementHe accused Trump of using the presidency to “destroy trust in our election and poison our respect for our fellow citizens.”

In his book, Woodward reports that as defense secretary, Mattis was so worried that Trump would order a nuclear strike on North Korea that he would sleep in gym clothes if he received a call overnight.

The full interview with Woodward can be found here Here.