JAMES MATTIS/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S President Donald Trump said on Wednesday [9-5-18] Defense Secretary James Mattis will remain in his job, a day after a report, denied by Mattis, that he had made disparaging remarks about the president. Asked by reporters at the White House whether he was considering replacing Mattis, Trump said: ‘He’ll stay right there. We’re very happy with him. We’re having a lot of victories.’ Mattis was quoted as having told associates that Trump acted like ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader,’ in excerpts published by the Washington Post of a book by Watergate reporter Bob Woodward. According to the book, ‘Fear: Trump in the White House,’ the Republican president told Mattis he wanted to have Syrian President Bashar al-Assad assassinated after Assad launched a chemical attack on civilians in April 2017. Mattis told Trump he would ‘get right on it,’ but instead developed a plan for a limited air strike that did not threaten Assad personally, according to the excerpts.”
–Roberta Rampton, “Trump says Defense Secretary Mattis to keep his job,” Reuters, September 5, 2018 1:06 pm