Murkowski Praises Mattis, Says She’s Unsure If She Will Vote For Trump

Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski expressed support for former Defense Secretary James Mattis on Thursday after he harshly criticized President Trump in a statement originally published in The Atlantic.

Murkowski described Mattis’ statement as “true and honest and necessary” before admitting that she has struggled with the decision over whether she will vote for the president in November.

“When I saw Gen. Mattis’ comments yesterday I felt like perhaps we’re getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns we might hold internally and have the courage of our convictions and speak up,” she originally told Washington Post Senior Congressional Correspondent Paul Kane.

Pressed further on her comment regarding Trump and the 2020 presidential election, Murkowski stated that she has “struggled with it for a long time.”

Murkowski, a moderate Republican known as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress, according to the nonpartisan Lugar Center, continued to say that Trump is “our duly elected president,” and that she would “continue to work with him” and “continue to work with this administration.”

Murkowski had expressed concern over Trump’s handling of protests that have spread across the country over the death of George Floyd, who was killed May 25 after a police officer was seen kneeling on his neck for over eight minutes, video of the incident shows.

Mattis on the other hand was much more aggressive in his remarks, writing that “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.”

Both Murkowski and Mattis drew specific concern over the president’s threat to call in active members of the military in an effort to prevent protests from turning violent. While Murkowski made sure to emphasize the importance of continuing to work with Trump and his administration to get results for Americans, Mattis offered a more critical assessment.

“Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict – a false conflict – between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect.”