Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:59 pm
The Trump administration failed miserably at its first emergency national security incident test when it conducted a full on Situation Room type strategy session on a Mar-a-Lago patio, in front of paying club member diners.
Speaking for a nation, an on-fire Nancy Pelosi demanded Mike Flynn be fired after Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser allowed Mar-a-Lago to be turned into an non-secure, open air situation room which Pelosi referred to as “dinner theater.”
I want to be very clear: President Trump must fire National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. #FireFlynn https://t.co/iHZH1Pfkcz
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 13, 2017
There's no excuse for letting an international crisis play out in front of a bunch of country club members like dinner theater. #FireFlynn
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 13, 2017
There's no excuse for letting an international crisis play out in front of a bunch of country club members like dinner theater. #FireFlynn
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 13, 2017
Michael Flynn has proven he cannot be trusted to serve America’s best interests and national security instead of Russia’s. #FireFlynn
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 13, 2017
These are not the actions of a man who can be trusted with the security of our nation. General Flynn must go. #FireFlynn
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) February 13, 2017
After North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile during President Trump’s dinner, CNN reported that
“As Mar-a-Lago’s wealthy members looked on from their tables, and with a keyboard player crooning in the background, Trump and Abe’s evening meal quickly morphed into a strategy session, the decision-making on full view to fellow diners, who described it in detail to CNN,” Kevin Liptak of CNN reported.
Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and chief strategist Steve Bannon left their seats to huddle closer to Trump as documents were produced and phone calls were placed to officials in Washington and Tokyo.
Did they even lock down the area? No. According to CNN’s report, not only were their wives left at the table during this meeting, but advisers, translators, and waiters came and went as Trump and his team continued their strategy session.
Wealthy, paying members of the club reportedly view their membership dues as a chance to get “face time” with the new President, which is a much worse version of what Trump tried to pin on Hillary Clinton and her actual charity foundation. But that sort of goes without saying at this point, as amid the wild incompetence of an administration that already blew the Yemen raid and cost a Navy SEAL his life, staggering hypocrisy tends to go by the wayside.
This is sort of the reality TV version of a national security meeting. It takes place in full view of a paying audience, it’s not secure, it’s lit with candles and cell phone flashlights.
Trump seems confused about Flynn’s complete lack of fitness for the job, but if he had done a two second google search, he would have known that Flynn is not considered to be stable. Couple this with Flynn’s Russia betrayal, and he should have been fired on Friday.
But perhaps the President can’t fire Flynn. And that opens up a whole new can of worms.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
