Republicans are at each other’s throats after Trump made a side deal with Kim Jong-un to end US military activities on the Korean Peninsula.
Video of Sen. Cory Garder saying that Vice President Mike Pence told Senators that the military exercises would continue:
Gardner tweeted:
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.@VP was very clear: regular readiness training and training exchanges will continue. https://t.co/9tnKhqxnMz
— Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) June 12, 2018
Pence’s press secretary responded:
.@VP didn’t say this at the Senate lunch today https://t.co/WxsEFy5c9J
— Alyssa Farah (@VPPressSec) June 12, 2018
Gardner tried to clean it up:
.@VP went on to say while this readiness training and exchanges will occur, war games will not 2/2 https://t.co/cc6jwRw8zG
— Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) June 12, 2018
By “war games” N. Korea meant the training exercises
Republicans are going after each other because they are trying to spin Trump’s awful concession to Kim. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Pence did say what Gardner said. No Republican agrees with the concession that Trump made, but since Pence is expected to play the role of First Stooge, and is not allowed to disagree with Trump, he had to get Gardner back into line.
What is happening here is that Trump flew by the seat of his pants and created a giant problem for the Republican Party. Republicans are fighting with each other because no one has any idea what Trump meant or what the consequences will be for his statements.
Trump caved to N. Korea, and the result is sending the Republican Party spiraling out of control.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
