After the Washington Post in May published a photo that reportedly revealed the phone number of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, a high school teenager jumped at the chance and reached out to him.
Mercer High School Islander reporter Teddy Fischer reportedly called Mattis asking for an interview after finding the phone number on the photo.
In the photo, President Donald Trump and his bodyguard, Keith Schiller, were walking outside the White House, and Schiller was holding a stack of papers in his hand. One of the papers had Mattis’ name on it, along with a phone number.
“I called it to see if it was him, because I was pretty curious if this is actually his number or is it kind of a joke,” Fischer told the King 5 local news channel.
Fischer texted Mattis and asked for an interview request. Mattis called back and agreed to an interview with Fischer on Memorial Day. The interview lasted around 45 minutes, according to King 5.
The interview covered topics such as politics, history and foreign policy.
When asked why he called Fischer back, Mattis said it was because he is also from Washington state and wanted to pass on some advice to a younger generation.
“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,” Mattis said.
The full interview can be read here.
The reflection on the interview can be read here.
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