James Mattis, the former Defense Secretary, supposedly gave a warning to an intelligence official that they might have to take collective action against President Donald Trump to stem his dangerous behavior. That comes from the new book by Bob Woodward titled Rage. Woodward’s new book is focused on the grumblings and the complaints of former officials of the White House who have been kicked out of the administration. That includes Mattis and Dan Coats, who served as the Director of National Intelligence.

Based on the book, Mattis was very concerned about how Trump was dealing with North Korea when it was testing missiles in 2017. The book quoted Mattis telling Coats that, “There may come a time when we have to take collective action” since Trump is “dangerous. He’s unfit.”

On another occasion, he told Coats, “The president has no moral compass,” to which Coats answered: “True. To him, a lie is not a lie. It’s just what he thinks. He doesn’t know the difference between the truth and a lie.”

The quotes from Mattis quickly drew the attention of observers from both sides of the political spectrum. Mattis has increasingly become critical of the President after leaving office. He has repeatedly criticized President Trump without mincing his words.

However, his criticism of the President for how he handled the North Korean missile tests seems to be misplaced now. President Trump has made advances in the relations with the rogue state that no president has achieved. He has met with the North Korean leader and has even set foot in North Korea. The only reason why the relations with the communist state has soured again is that its leader Kim Jong-un is rumored to be dead or incapacitated and so its government has returned to being secretive again.

The release of the book has been conveniently timed near the elections. The Democrats and their media allies are hoping that it would have an impact on the voting public. It’s also a form of distraction so that the public does not pay attention to the inadequacies of Joe Biden. It’s expected that the mainstream will be pushing for this narrative now.