Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called Russian President Vladimir Putin "someone we simply cannot trust." | Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Foreign Policy Mattis: Putin a 'slow learner' who tried to 'muck around' in midterms

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Saturday chastised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "slow learner" who attempted to interfere with last month's U.S. midterm elections.

"There is no doubt the relationship has worsened," Mattis said of U.S.-Russian relations. "He tried again to muck around in our elections this last month, and we are seeing a continued effort along those lines."


In an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier here at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Mattis called the Russian president "someone we simply cannot trust," adding though his actions were actually strengthening the NATO alliance amid provocative actions abroad.

"Mr. Putin is clearly a slow learner. He is not recognizing that what he is doing is actually creating the animosity against his people," Mattis said. "He's not acting in the best interests of the Russian people, and he is actually causing NATO to rearm and to strengthen the democracies' stance, the unified stance of all the democracies together."

Mattis' comments at the annual defense forum at the Ronald Reagan Library follow heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the Sea of Azov, where Russia seized Ukrainian ships. President Donald Trump called off a planned extensive meeting with Putin at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, though the pair spoke Friday during a dinner there.

In an earlier keynote address, Mattis also warned against cutting military spending, and argued doing so would be "a dangerous disservice" to the country.

Mattis praised congressional leaders for securing historically high defense spending and urged Congress to continue steady and predictable funding to enact a new National Defense Strategy. High deficits and a new Democratic-controlled House could make maintaining defense spending a tall task.

The president has also indicated he wants the defense budget for fiscal 2020 to be cut to $700 billion from a planned $733 billion. But in his interview with Baier, Mattis downplayed talk of a shrinking budget.

"This is the normal give-and-take of building the president's budget," Mattis said. "This is not a decision. This is where the president is trying to sort out competing priorities."

"The issue is in play," Mattis added. "I'll give my advice to the president. I owe him the courtesy of that in private."

