The Trump administration should be viewed in an “unvarnished and fair” way and that includes members of the administration that have been confirmed or confirmed pending action, said the former secretary of defense.
Speaking on Fox News on Monday, Robert Gates, who served as defense secretary from 2006 to 2011, urged restraint on critics and emphasized the need for people to wait until they get a look at the policies and programs of the administration.
“Look, I think the biggest mistake is for people to jump to conclusions because they don’t know the program,” he said. “They don’t know whether the overall program is good or bad.”
Gates was asked by Tucker Carlson about conservative commentators who expressed anger over a number of what they deemed inflammatory comments President Trump made in the wake of the controversy over the Steve Bannon-affiliated Breitbart News.
Carlson asked if it’s appropriate for the president to be dealt with in that way, given that he is still in the “not-yet-presidential” phase of his presidency.
“I think when you have all those steps before you get to this age or this stage of your life you have to behave somewhat like a civilian,” Gates said. “I mean, you don’t put what you said on that form and submit it to the State Department when you go to bed. And I think that’s one of the things, frankly, that the president should do.”
But even if the president insists on acting on the statements he made, it doesn’t put the episode behind him, Gates said.
“I think the president’s basic focus ought to be on doing the job of what he’s been elected to do and not getting so upset or affected by other people,” he said.
Watch the clip above.
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