President Trump told “60 Minutes” in an interview that aired Sunday that he’s not sure how long Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will stay in his administration, suspecting he’s a Democrat.
“I had lunch with him two days ago. I have a very good relationship with him. It could be that he is,” Trump told CBS's Lesley Stahl on whether Mattis will leave.
"I think he's sort of a Democrat, if you want to know the truth," the president continued. "But Gen. Mattis is a good guy. We get along very well. He may leave. I mean, at some point, everybody leaves. Everybody. People leave. That's Washington."
Watch below, around the 45-second mark:
“It’s wrong. It’s so false. It’s fake news.” —President Trump on reports that the White House is in chaos. The president's full 60 Minutes interview airs tonight. https://t.co/tFUrrwfPmr pic.twitter.com/2xRTBqYJnX
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 14, 2018
Mattis’s departure has been rumored for weeks, but he denied those reports last month, saying he loves his job in the administration.
"I wouldn't take it seriously at all," Mattis told journalists at the time about the reports.
"How many times have we been through this, now, just since I've been here?" Mattis said. "It will die down soon, and the people who started the rumor will be allowed to write the next rumor, too. Just the way the town is.”
He added: "Of course I don't think about leaving, I love it here."
Mattis responds to reports his time at the DoD is short: You shouldn't take the reports seriously.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 18, 2018
Adds how the "rumor" is spread by the news.
"Of course I don't think about leaving, I love it here. I'm thinking about retiring here, getting a little place down on the Potomac." pic.twitter.com/vNZxRvajXN