Adm. Mike Mullen worries John Kelly, H.R. McMaster are too political

The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sunday expressed concern about how the retired and active duty generals now serving in the Trump administration are handling the "very difficult" political environment. 

Retired Adm. Mike Mullen described White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as "great Americans" and "great citizens" – but believes their military backgrounds have not equipped them well for the political world.

"And the worry that I have actually is they're also really, for the first time in their lives, inside the White House and inside this political environment, which I certainly grew to understand over four years as chairman. It's a very difficult environment," Mullen, who served as the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman from 2007 to 2011, told ABC's This Week. "... I have concerns with respect to... how good outcomes come out of that."

In particular, Mullen said he worries about the potential politicization of the military.

He pointed Kelly's defense of President Trump's call to a Gold Star family, during which Trump reportedly said that the widow's husband "knew what he signed up for." Kelly said last month that he was "stunned and brokenhearted" after Rep. Frederica Wilson listened in on the phone call, saying that such moments should be politicized.

But in making these comments, Kelly had also waded into politics, Mullen said. 

"He was in a position to both defend the president in terms of what happened with the Gold Star family and then he ends up — and John ends up politicizing the death of his own son in the wars," Mullen said.

Lt. Gen. McMaster, who is still active duty, had gotten involved in politics when he first began with the administration, but has since become "much more subdued," Mullen said.

"I think the role of the National Security Adviser is to really just present options, almost be neutral in that regard," he said.