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Gen. Mattis to Newsmax: Haven't 'Given Any Thought' to Bid for President

Gen. Mattis to Newsmax: Haven't 'Given Any Thought' to Bid for President
 James Mattis (AP)

John Gizzi By Sunday, 24 April 2016 06:08 PM EDT Current | Bio | Archive

Despite widespread mention in the press that he is considering an independent bid for president, retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis told Newsmax Friday that he "hasn't given any thought" to a late-starting candidacy.

At the time of his retirement Mattis was head of U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East. He spoke to Newsmax following an address on the Iran agreement and other current situations in the Middle East at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Pressed by Newsmax as to whether there was any truth to rumors he might make a run for president against the two major party nominees, Mattis chuckled and replied: "I think people like you know that better than I do."

Now a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institute, Mattis has been urged to run as an independent by a group of so far unidentified "billionaires." In addition, a group of campaign operatives including former Jeb Bush campaign staffer John Noonan sent the retired Marine officer a memo on how he could win a three-candidate race.

For now, however, the "Run, Jim, Run" talk has been primarily akin to that surrounding possible bids for the Republican nomination by retired Air Force Gen. Lauris Norstaad in 1964 and retired Army General James Gavin as an anti-Vietnam War candidate in 1968 – primarily talk, with no action or interest by the prospective candidate so far.

In his remarks at CSIS, however, Mattis sounded very much like a candidate, as he slammed the Obama Administration for the Iran agreement.

The Iranians, he charged, have "not changed the way they do business," citing recent remarks by Quds Gen. Qasem Solemani calling for open annex of Bahrain and by the Grand Ayatollah calling for "erasing Israel off the map."

Dismissing the Iran agreement as "a bridge too far." Mattis called for "an insurance policy" to guard against future Iranian terrorism and said "the next president is going to inherit a mess" on the foreign front.

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John-Gizzi
Despite widespread mention in the press that he is considering an independent bid for president, retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis told Newsmax Friday that he hasn't given any thought to a late-starting candidacy. At the time of his retirement Mattis was head of...
Gizzi, Mattis, President
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2016-08-24
Sunday, 24 April 2016 06:08 PM
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