Bill Bennett fires back at Mattis over criticism of Trump, says 'we need to get a hold of' urban riots

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Bill Bennett says he's 'very disappointed' by Gen. Mattis' denouncement of President Trump

Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis excoriated President Trump in a statement to The Atlantic; reaction from Fox News contributor Bill Bennett, former education secretary under President Reagan.

Former Education Secretary and Fox News contributor Bill Bennett told "The Story" Wednesday that he was "very disappointed" in former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' harsh criticism of President Trump's leadership in response to protests over the death of George Floyd.

"He made a big deal out of, 'I'm not going to be one of these people gets out of office, then criticizes the president,'" Bennet told host Martha MacCallum. "It's exactly what he's done."

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Mattis released a statement to The Atlantic Wednesday evening saying he was "angry and appalled" over the death of Floyd, supporting protesters and speaking out against utilizing the military to quell demonstrations.

"Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try," Mattis said. "Instead he tries to divide us."

"The thing that really bothered me in his statement was he said, let's not be focusing on the distraction of a few violent people. Really? Really?" Bennett said. "We now have four or five cops who have been shot ... is that enough to satisfy people? This is not a distraction. This is fundamental and we need to get a hold of it."

Turning to the protests over Floyd's death, Bennett called for an end to violence and pushed back at the claim that America is "fundamentally racist."

"These cops should be brought to justice. But this bloodlust against cops has got to stop. But you say an eye for an eye," Bennett said. "There are now five eyes at least or six [given] by law enforcement as opposed to the Mr. Floyd situation. Enough of this killing. Let's stop and let's remember what kind of a country this is."

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Bennett said the problem in America is not "systemic" racism, but "individual" racism, adding that the idea of systemic racism " is a big lie because we refuse to talk about the things that are real, like family formation, non-family formation, the fact that there is more crime in the city. The fact that there's other problems.

"But, you know, [Barack] Obama had eight years, Martha, and he had Democrats in charge for it for a lot of that. You know what happened then? Not much."