Trump proves Mattis was right with childish presidential attack on Murkowski

Sen. Lisa Murkowski told a Washington reporter the comments by former Defense Secretary James Mattis are “true, honest, necessary and overdue.” She was right.

The online version of the Washington Post had this headline at the top of its site Thursday, “GOP senator says she is struggling with her support for Trump.”

“I thought General Mattis’s words were true and honest and necessary and overdue,” Murkowski said to a Post reporter while on the way to a hearing.

“When I saw Gen. Mattis’s comments yesterday I felt like perhaps we’re getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns we might hold internally and have the courage of our convictions and speak up,” she told The Washington Post's Paul Kane.

This political statement so irritated Trump that he took to Twitter to promise to campaign in Alaska in 2022 against anyone “good or bad,” who challenges Murkowski. Two of Trump’s many weaknesses are his inability to control himself and his lack of respect for women. Both were on full display once more. He has degraded the Republican Party and the office of the president.

Asked if she will support Trump in the election, Murkowski said, “I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time.”

“He is duly elected our president,” she said. “I will continue to work with him. I will continue to work with this administration.”

“Right now, as we are all struggling with ways to express the words that need to be expressed appropriately,” Murkowski continued. “I think there are important conversations that we need to have as an American people amongst ourselves about where we are right now.”

We are almost back to the point in 2016 before the election, when Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan said they couldn’t support Trump because of the Hollywood Access tape. After the election, Sullivan became a Trump loyalist and never criticizes him.

On Wednesday, Trump attacked Mattis and insulted him in a variety of childish ways. Mattis had said that Trump is trying to divide the country, which has become clear to most Americans.

“We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children,” Mattis said.

Later Thursday, Trump insulted Murkowski for daring to speak out and say she thought Mattis was right.

Trump responded to Murkowski in a juvenile manner, claiming anyone with a pulse would be a better senator for Alaska.

Sullivan should denounce Trump for this. He won’t. He will play word games, as he almost always does about Trump, when he isn’t praising the supreme leader.

It’s a baby step by Murkowski, as someone responded to me on Twitter, and one that will prompt Trump forces to go after her once more. She deserves credit for her comment, which is only “extraordinary,” as one reporter put it, because of the decision by the GOP to give blind obedience to Trump.

I wrote early Thursday that one thing to watch for will be Sullivan’s response when Trump attacks Murkowski.

Sullivan often praised the late Sen. John McCain and called him a great friend, but when Trump attacked and ridiculed the dying McCain, Sullivan did not challenge Trump or criticize his comments. Sullivan has also praised Mattis, who is now one subject of Trump’s ire.

Sullivan went on “Meet the Press” in 2018 and ducked questions about Trump’s insults to McCain.

Trump went on mocking the dying McCain at rallies in the summer of 2018 and Sullivan stayed silent. Trump's tasteless comments and actions continued in the days following McCain's death.

As I wrote at the time, Sullivan could have taken the opportunity to reject Trump's attacks, but he reverted to his standard practice of never saying anything that might offend the president.

"You kind of gloss over it. Why? He's the President of the United States," said Chuck Todd.

"What what I’m trying to -- Chuck, I'm not trying to gloss over it," said Sullivan. He wasn’t trying to gloss over it. He succeeded.

When Mattis announced his resignation in late 2018, Sullivan said he was a “once-in-a-generation Secretary of Defense,” adding “Semper Fidelis, Mr. Secretary.”

After Trump tweeted this week that Mattis was the “world’s most overrated general,” Sullivan didn’t make a statement saying that Trump was wrong or say Semper Fidelis.

He said nothing. He has yet to denounce Trump’s comments on Murkowski and probably won’t. Sullivan doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of similar presidential barbs. During an hour-long town hall meeting with Alaskans Thursday, Sullivan made no mention of Trump’s attack on Murkowski.

Murkowski’s full comments to reporters early Thursday are below, followed by Trump’s tweets.