General [James] Mattis has got a really intellectual mindset about how the United States should go about protecting its national security.

Iran has proxies in Yemen, Syria, Iraq. You can push back against Iran without pulling out of the deal.

t I think what [James Mattis] will do with the deal is monitor it very, very carefully and make sure that Iran is complying with every stipulation of it.

Michele Flournoy, by the way, is not just a talented and bright person. She was Hillary Clinton's secretary of defense in-waiting. So for her to give General [James] Mattis her support, that says something significant.

General [James] Mattis has said that the deal's in place. We can't unilaterally pull out of it without support from our allies because the sanctions wouldn't bite as deeply. And so he'll find other ways to push back against Iran in the various conflicts that Iran is fomenting around the [Iran] region.

Certainly, we shouldn't go about making a habit of taking generals and making them secretary of defense.

[General James Mattis] a very talented individual. He's - has a personal library of about 10,000 books and he's read most of them on military history and strategy and so forth.