Trump’s Foreign Policy Team Is Making War Plans Without Telling Him

X Facebook Email Flipboard Pinterest Print Reddit

Donald Trump denied reporting from The New York Times that his administration is planning to send 120,000 troops to the Middle East in response to Iran, saying on Tuesday that he has “not planned for that.”

But Trump’s denial of the report doesn’t prove that The New York Times is pushing “fake news,” as the president claims. Instead, it just shows that Trump’s national security team is leaving him out of key foreign policy plans.

“Is it possible the president of the United States has so outsourced his foreign policy to a neocon hawk (John Bolton) that he doesn’t know what the hell’s going on?” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews asked on Tuesday.

New York Times reporter Peter Baker responded, “It’s certainly possible that they have discussed war plans without him at this point. I mean they’re not bringing to him for actual approval.”

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Video:

The Trump foreign policy is a lose-lose situation

The foreign policy dynamic in Donald Trump’s White House is a lose-lose situation for the United States – and the world more broadly.

While this commander-in-chief cannot be trusted to run a lemonade stand, much less the most powerful nuclear arsenal in the world, it’s equally dangerous to allow war hawks – like National Security Advisor John Bolton – to draw up war plans in the Middle East.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether this president is in the Situation Room with his staff drawing up war plans, or if he’s on his golf course in Florida. Both scenarios should give the American people little confidence.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter

Sean Colarossi

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.