Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw compared outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis to “the captain of a sinking ship” and urged all Americans regardless of “party label” to confront President Trump, whom he compared to Captain Queeg.
Queeg is the fictional unstable skipper of the U.S.S. Caine in Herman Wouk’s classic World War II novel, “The Caine Mutiny,” released in 1951.
“Pres trump getting rid of general mattis is like the captain of a sinking ship firing the coast guard. this is a time for all hands to be on deck – whatever their party label – and confront captain queeg, er, president trump,” Brokaw wrote in a tweet.
Mattis’s announcement came after the White House announced plans on Wednesday to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. There are also reports that Trump wants to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after more than 17 years of war there.
Pentagon officials and members of the foreign policy establishment strongly rejected the proposals, saying they only embolden terror groups in those countries while putting U.S. national security at risk.
In his resignation letter to Trump, Mattis said the president would be better suited with a defense secretary “whose views are better aligned with yours.”