A clearly out of it Donald Trump warned reporters on Thursday that his meeting with military leaders represents “the calm before the storm,” offering little explanation as to what his ominous threat meant.
When reporters urged him to elaborate – as any responsible commander-in-chief would – he refused to. Instead, he treated the exercise as if he were still hosting a reality TV show.
Video:
JUST IN: “Maybe it’s the calm before the storm,” Pres. Trump says alongside US military leaders. “You’ll find out.” https://t.co/NMljtvsnJF
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— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) October 5, 2017
Trump’s full comments:
Do you guys know what this represents? … Maybe it’s the calm before the storm. Could be the calm before the storm. We have the world’s great military people in this room – I will tell you that. And we’re going to have a great evening. Thank you all for coming.
When asked again by reporters what he meant by “calm before the storm,” Trump said, “You’ll find out,” before being whisked away.
Unfortunately, this is the kind of unstable behavior from the leader of the free world that has left our allies concerned and our enemies emboldened. It’s this type of shoot-from-the-hip attitude that we’ve become accustomed to with Trump in the White House.
Throughout his short time in the Oval Office, he has escalated the nuclear crisis with North Korea, threatened to create a second one by tearing up a critical agreement with Iran, and has allowed Russia to get away with waging a cyber attack on our democratic process.
Leaving ominous cliffhangers at the end of an ‘Apprentice’ episode may be good for ratings, but using the same strategy when it comes to matters of war and peace is dangerous and unacceptable.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
