James Mattis hits back at Donald Trump: ‘honoured to be most overrated general’

‘I earned my spurs on the battlefield … and Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor’, the ex-defence secretary said

Trump called Mattis ‘the world’s most overrated general’ during a meeting with Democrats over Syria policy

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Former US secretary of defence James Mattis at a gala charity dinner in New York. Photo: AP

Published: 10:40pm, 18 Oct 2019Updated: 1:09am, 19 Oct 2019

Former US defence secretary James Mattis said he was honoured to be the “world’s most overrated general” in a swipe at his former boss, Donald Trump, who insulted him earlier this week.

At a gala charity dinner in New York on Thursday evening, Mattis told diners he had now “achieved greatness.”

“I’m not just an overrated general. I am the greatest, the world’s most overrated,” he said.“I’m honoured to be considered that by Donald Trump because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress,” he said.

“So I guess I’m the Meryl Streep of generals, and frankly that sounds pretty good to me,” he said to laughter and applause at the annual Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation dinner. “And you do have to admit that between me and Meryl, at least we’ve had some victories.”

James Mattis with Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Trump called Mattis “the world’s most overrated general” during an acrimonious White House meeting on Wednesday with top Democrats over Syria policy.