Tenth-Grader Lands Interview With Defense Secretary James Mattis
General James Mattis during Senate confirmation hearings, 2010. Image by Getty Images
A high school journalist scored an exclusive interview with Defense Secretary James “Mad Dog” Mattis after spotting the Pentagon chief’s phone number in a Washington Post photo.
Teddy Fischer, a sophomore at Mercer Island High School, saw Mattis’s personal phone number exposed and decided to give him a try (the Post later removed the photo). After Mattis’s voicemail message confirmed it was him, Fischer texted Mattis, noting that he was from Mercer Island, not far from Mattis’s hometown of Pullman, Washington.
“I never really thought it would work,” Fischer said.
The interview was wide-ranging, touching on the Islamic State group, the role of not-for-profits in foreign policy, and why high school students should focus on studying history. “I wish now looking back on it,” Mattis said, “if I’d known what waited for me in life, I would have put a lot more attention into history.”
Of the interview, Mattis said, “So, I’ve always tried to help students because I think we owe it to you young folks to pass on what we learned going down the road so that you can make your own mistakes, not the same ones we made.”
Contact Jesse Bernstein at [email protected]
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
