Former Defense Secretary James Mattis fired back at President Donald Trump for calling him “the world’s most overrated general” during a dinner Wednesday.
At the beginning of his speech at the Al Smith Memorial Foundation dinner on Thursday, Mattis criticized Trump’s deferment from the draft during the Vietnam War.
“I earned my spurs on the battlefield; Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor” he said.
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He continued playing off Trump’s comment saying, “I’m honored to be considered that by Donald Trump because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress. So I guess I’m the Meryl Streep of generals, and frankly that sounds pretty good to me.”
Trump’s remark came during a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-New York). During the meeting, Trump touted his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria — a decision that the majority of the House does not support.
“He wasn’t tough enough,” Trump reportedly said. “I captured ISIS. Mattis said it would take two years. I captured them in one month.”
Schumer was also in attendance at the event, and decided to run with the joke.
He tweeted Thursday night, “While President @realDonaldTrump was having another rally, it was great to catch up with General Mattis–the Meryl Streep of Generals.”
Trump called Meryl Streep “overrated” on Twitter in 2017.
