Mattis Calls Himself ‘the Meryl Streep of Generals' Over Trump’s Criticism

“I’m not just an overrated general. I’m the greatest, the world’s most overrated," Mattis told the audience at the 74th annual Al Smith Memorial Foundation dinner Thursday. 

"I'm honored to be considered that by Donald Trump because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress. So I guess I'm the Meryl Streep of generals, and frankly that sounds pretty good to me,” Mattis continued, adding that “between me and Meryl, at least we’ve had some victories.”

Trump reportedly called Mattis “the world’s most overrated general” during a tense meeting Wednesday with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi among others. Schumer reportedly read a quote from Mattis’s Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press,” where he criticized Trump’s decision to pull US troops from northern Syria. Trump responded by saying that he accomplished in one month what Mattis couldn’t accomplish in two years.

Schumer, who attended the event as well, showed solidarity with the general, tweeting, "While Donald Trump was having another rally, it was great to catch up with General Mattis—the Meryl Streep of generals."

Both Mattis and Schumer made reference to Trump’s infamous tweet where he called Streep “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood” in a tweet after his election, as the actress Streep had criticized Trump in a speech at the Golden Globes.

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