Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, who gave two months of honest, thoughtful and constructively-inspired notice of his resignation, was instead told to clean out his desk immediately by President Trump (“Mattis will depart Jan. 1, deputy will be secretary,” Dec. 23). The president, apparently unconcerned about whatever turmoil his petulant actions cause here, has once again (and again and again and again) made the issue of Mattis' resignation all about himself. While Mattis respectfully implied that the president would be better served by someone more in line with his own thinking, Mr. Trump figured otherwise, decided he was being publicly insulted, and heedless of thrusting the defense establishment into upheaval, acted like a child seeking simplistic revenge.
Our president, who is blatantly narcissistic, continues to let this behavior guide his thinking and subsequent actions. Combined with his continuous fact-mauling outbursts and his disturbing disregard for detailed information, we have had a commander-in-chief for two years now who exhibits little interest and ability in responsible governance and who shows absolutely no proclivity towards ever "growing into the job."
Mark Thomas, Portland
