--- title: Mattis Jokes to Bolton: 'I Heard You’re Actually the Devil' description: Defense Secretary James Mattis was caught jokingly referring to incoming National Security Advisor John Bolton as "the devil incarnate." canonical: https://time.com/5221213/james-mattis-john-bolton-devil/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-29T19:05:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:49:28.457Z article:section: Politics og:title: Mattis Jokes to Bolton: 'I Heard You’re Actually the Devil Incarnate' og:description: The two sought to dispel speculation that they would not get along. og:url: https://time.com/5221213/james-mattis-john-bolton-devil/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52699c962db83438/698926dd4ee2623078310cf7/gettyimages-915452602.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Defense Secretary Mattis Holds Media Briefing At The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mattis Jokes to Bolton: 'I Heard You’re Actually the Devil Incarnate' twitter:description: The two sought to dispel speculation that they would not get along. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52699c962db83438/698926dd4ee2623078310cf7/gettyimages-915452602.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mattis Jokes to Bolton: 'I Heard You’re Actually the Devil Incarnate' by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 29, 2018 7:05 PM UTC  U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis at a White House press briefing on Feb. 7, 2018. U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis at a White House press briefing on Feb. 7, 2018.Win McNamee—Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 29, 2018 7:05 PM UTC Defense Secretary James Mattis was caught jokingly referring to incoming National Security Advisor [John Bolton](http://time.com/5211927/john-bolton-trump-national-security-advisor-hr-mcmaster-resign/) as “the devil incarnate” during their first meeting Thursday. The two laughed as they entered the Pentagon for their first official meeting, setting a contrast to recent speculation that they may not work well together in the Trump Administration. “Ambassador Bolton, so good to see you. Thanks for coming and it’s good to finally meet you. I heard that you’re actually the devil incarnate and I wanted to meet you,” Mattis said. A former ambassador to the United Nations known for a bombastic style, Bolton replaces [H.R. McMaster](http://time.com/5211928/hr-mcmaster-resign-john-bolton-trump-white-house-national-security-advisor/), a three-star general who had increasingly clashed with Trump. Mattis, a retired Marine general who advocates for diplomacy and strengthening ties with NATO, has [sought to dispel speculation](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/27/defense-secretary-mattis-says-he-has-no-reservations-about-bolton.html) that he would clash with Bolton, a hawk who has called for action against North Korea and Iran. “No reservations, no concerns at all,” [he said at a press conference Tuesday](https://news.vice.com/en%5Fus/article/wj7n4w/mattis-wants-you-to-know-hes-looking-forward-to-working-with-john-bolton). “Last time I checked he’s an American. I can work with an American, OK? So I’m not the least bit concerned with that sort of thing.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5221213/james-mattis-john-bolton-devil/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5221213/james-mattis-john-bolton-devil/"},"headline":"Mattis Jokes to Bolton: 'I Heard You’re Actually the Devil Incarnate'","datePublished":"2018-03-29T19:05:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:49:28.457Z","description":"Defense Secretary James Mattis was caught jokingly referring to incoming National Security Advisor John Bolton as \"the devil incarnate.\"","url":"https://time.com/5221213/james-mattis-john-bolton-devil/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52699c962db83438/698926dd4ee2623078310cf7/gettyimages-915452602.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52699c962db83438/698926dd4ee2623078310cf7/gettyimages-915452602.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Defense Secretary Mattis Holds Media Briefing At The White House","caption":"Defense Secretary Mattis Holds Media Briefing At The White House","creditText":"Win McNamee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5221213/james-mattis-john-bolton-devil/","name":"Mattis Jokes to Bolton: 'I Heard You’re Actually the Devil Incarnate'"}}]}] ```