Trump says Gen. Mattis will ‘override’ him on torture

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump said Friday his defense chief would “override" him on torture, but maintained he continues to believe it is an effective practice.

"He has stated publicly that he does not necessarily believe in torture or waterboarding or however you want to define it -- enhanced interrogation I guess would be a word that a lot of -- words that a lot of people would like to use. I don't necessarily agree", Trump said during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May. He ardently maintained that the U.S. would "win with or without" the illegal practice.

"I don't necessarily agree, but I would tell you that he will override because I'm giving him that power," Trump said.

The U.S’s new defense leader, retired Gen. James Mattis, has repeatedly spoken critically of torture and publicly cast doubt on its effectiveness as an interrogation method.

Trump has often signaled a willingness to revert to former President George W. Bush's enhanced interrogation program, and what he's said are "much worse" methods, running into stern opposition from lawmakers who limited interrogation methods to those within the Army Field Manual in 2015.

The amendment to a defense spending bill, introduced by lawmakers John McCain and Dianne Feinstein, largely set into law what former President Barack Obama put into practice when he assumed office.

Speaking last November, Trump said Mattis told him: "I've always found, give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and I do better with that than I do with torture."

Commenting on relations with Russia, Trump said it is too early to determine if Washington would lift its economic penalties related to Moscow's violations of Ukraine's sovereignty, but he said he is "all for" better ties U.S.-Russian ties.

Should Trump choose to remove restrictions on Russia, McCain threatened to "work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law" for Moscow's continued actions in Ukraine, influence campaign in last year's polls, support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its "massive military buildup along NATO’s eastern flank".

Putin "needs us as his enemy. He will never be our partner, including in fighting ISIL," the Republican senator said in a statement.

Trump is scheduled to speak Saturday via telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And amid tense relations with the U.S.'s southern neighbor, Trump said he had a "very good call" with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday after the leaders called off a meeting in Washington originally planned for next week as Trump gears up to build a border wall on the country’s border with Mexico.

"I have been very strong on Mexico," Trump said, reiterating his suggestion that he would renegotiate a free trade deal with the country.

"They've made us look foolish. We have a trade deficit of $60 billion with Mexico. On top of that, the border is soft and weak, drugs are pouring in, and I'm not going to let that happen," he added.

The White House has suggested it would impose a 20 percent import tariff on Mexican goods to cover construction costs for the wall, but it is unclear how the fees could proceed given NAFTA's free trade protections.

In a readout of the telephone call, the U.S. and Mexican governments issued a joint statement that said Trump and Pena Nieto "recognize their clear and very public differences of positions on this issue but have agreed to work out those differences as part of a comprehensive discussion on all aspects of the bilateral relationship."