Donald Trump said this week that the stunning report that his White House pushed the military to keep the USS John S. McCain “out of sight” during his trip to Japan was “fake news” or “an exaggeration.”
The Navy put out a disclaimer on the McCain story. Looks like the story was an exaggeration, or even Fake News – but why not, everything else is!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019
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But on late Friday, the Navy itself pushed back and completely shattered Trump’s damage control attempt to label yet another unpleasant story as fake news.
In a statement to CNN, chief of Navy information, Rear Adm. Charlie Brown, said, “A request was made to the U.S. Navy to minimize the visibility of USS John S. McCain, however, all ships remained in their normal configuration during the President’s visit.”
More proof that the military sees this commander-in-chief as a petty child
On two fronts, the controversy surrounding the USS John S. McCain shows that Donald Trump is seen by his own military and staff as a petty child.
First, the fact that the White House made this request at all shows that they view the president as an unstable toddler.
Instead of seeing Trump as a commander-in-chief who could set aside politics on the world stage, White House staff genuinely believed the mere sight of a Navy warship named for the father and grandfather of a political opponent would send the president into a tantrum that would blow up his entire trip to Japan.
On the second front, the Navy’s statement suggests that, yes, they received a request from the White House to keep the USS John S. McCain out of sight during Trump’s visit to Japan – but they refused to fulfill it.
In short, the initial White House request shows just how childish and unstable they believe their boss is, and the fact that Navy apparently just ignored it indicates just how little they seem to respect this commander-in-chief.
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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.
