WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2018) US Secretary of Defense James Mattis in a statement rejected allegations contained in reporter Bob Woodward's new book that claim the pentagon chief insulted President Donald Trump's intelligence.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday citing Woodward's soon-to-be released book "Fear," that following a meeting on North Korea Mattis described Trump's understanding as that of a fifth or sixth grader.
"The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward's book were never uttered by me or in my presence," Mattis said on Tuesday. "While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility."
Woodward's book also claimed that following a chemical attack in Syria in April 2017, Trump told Mattis he wanted to kill Syrian President Bashar Assad. The defense chief allegedly told a senior aide that they would take a more measured response.
A number of current and former senior Trump administration officials in public statements on Tuesday refuted many of the allegations in Woodword's book.
