Chuck Todd spoke to former Defense Secretary James Mattis about Syria this morning, but he also questioned Mattis on why he isn’t more outspoken.

Todd brought up the frequency of takes that it’s time for former administration officials like Mattis to speak out.

Mattis said the Defense Department “stays outside of politics for a reason” and that everything he had to say about how America should treat its allies was laid out in his resignation letter:

“I have a lot of faith in the American people. They know how to vote. They don’t need military generals telling them that they think this political assessment is the one they should go with or the other one is, that sort of thing. Especially as corrosive as the political debate has grown in the country. This would be the worst time I think for military people to step out like that.”

You can watch above, via NBC.

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