For U.S. Allies, ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis Is the Last Adult in the Room

Has knack for reassuring U.S. friends, without attacking Trump
Pentagon chief Mattis ‘knows there is a Russia threat’

Mattis has worked to get NATO to watch what the U.S. does, not what it tweets. Bloomberg’s Marc Champion reports.Source: Bloomberg

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By Marc Champion

December 9, 2018 at 8:20 PM UTC

Updated on

December 10, 2018 at 1:33 PM UTC

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And then there was one.

Since Donald Trump assumed office almost two years ago, U.S. allies in Europe, Asia and beyond have counted on a number of so-called adults in the room to constrain an unpredictable president. With the imminent departure of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, only Defense Secretary Jim Mattis remains.