The whole point of the criticism is Trump doesn’t care enough about things like Armistice Day memorials to make the effort to go through the motions. The reason he comes up with to avoid it is, well, immaterial.
Potentially? Sure. Actually, based on what we know this situation? No. There’s just no evidence at the moment to justify believing the Trump White House’s explanation.
Trump and his White House are proven chronic liars. We need to stop engaging in mental contortions in order to give them the benefit of the doubt, and instead accept that we need to count the silverware every time one of them comes to visit.
And this is so far down the list of regrettable things this administration has done I honestly don’t see why anyone gives a damn.
Well. Because it’s Nov 11.
Eh, it’s also an issue because Trump’s base doesn’t like skipping military honors. And there are all the pictures of other leaders dealing with the conditions.
…is the more likely explanation.
And? This isn’t Obama, where wearing a tan suit is cause for alarm. This is the administration where armed military have been stationed at our southern border, federal funds are being threatened in a state ravaged by fire, a senior press correspondent was stripped of credentials for asking a tough question, a doctored video was released to cover that last bit up, and you know, thousands of children have been stripped from their families and no one can account for their whereabouts…just for starters.
With all due respect, and I truly am grateful for those that serve, I really don’t give a flying fact check if he went to a cemetery to mourn those he has zero respect for.
Also, too, what about the baby seals? Skin cancer? Pay-to-play apps? What about them?
Someone who supposedly works for me has completely bailed on showing up for work, offering the flimsiest of flimsy excuses as to why they can’t be arsed to do do the job I pay them to do.
On top of that, this person was supposed to be our representative at a very high visibility event. Instead of making us look good, which is part of his job, the fuckup has made all of us look like assholes. Now we have to apologize to the world for his fuckups … and not for the first time.
Of course I’m gonna give the lazy turd a piece of my mind. The fact that he’s fucked up worse and/or acted like a shit on thousands of other occasions as well doesn’t some how earn the weasel a pass when he does it again.
Your fault for not firing them.
I went to a conference once in Reims. We had a free day, so we rented a car and headed out on the roads, following the signs until we reached a WWI cemetery for US soldiers killed in the battle of the Marne. There was a small office there and a caretaker - an American employed by the office of the White House, which funds all those cemetaries - and he gave us a map to find more. We spent the whole day driving from one to the next, walking along the rows of white crosses and stars of David, reading the names. Many had no names. At the end of the day we ended up walking a trail through the Belleau Wood, where Trump was supposed to go today. The trail has plaques and memorials which mark the key points in the battle, or where Marines fell. It is a spectacularly moving experience. No helicopters necessary.
Look, we’re trying. But the HR team that is in charge of that has been refusing to do their job, and they even have refused to issue any corrective actions.
That sounds incredibly cool. Places like that can make you feel connected to the history in a way reading about it rarely does.
Totally agree. The cemetaries were mostly smallish, a few hundred markers or so, but there is one literally every few miles. I assume it was because it was easier just to bury them in groups close to where they fell, rather than transport them to some larger site. And the memorials are beautiful. Well worth seeing if you find yourself there.
Well, and herein lies the problem. When you lie constantly about things big and small, impotand trivial, folks are disinclined to believe you when you’re actually telling the truth.
I suspect that abtant’s interprretation is close to the truth. Trump didn’t make up an excuse not to attend but he took advantage of one where other leaders would have pushed for a solution. That no one is willing to believe them that this was a legitimate issue is their own fault and I have absolutely no sympathy.
And of course, it highlights one of the many, many problems with a White Hiuse that lies habitually. The White Water investigations were a witch hunt but the Republicans hypocritical criticism of Clinton lying about the Lewinski affair had some basis in reality. If you’re willing to lie about this, what else are you willing to lie about and it’s critically important that the country and the world can have faith in the President’s word. We’re so far through the looking glass on that one that these days the default assumption is that anything this administration says is a lie.
Not really. It presents two alternative conclusions. The first is the one you cited, and extensively discussed:
If HMX-1’s Marine One crews and mission planners—literally the best the USMC has to offer—did indeed scrub the mission due to bad weather, how is that controversial?
The second alternative is presented at the end:
If it turns out he didn’t want to go and this is all a cover story, then he deserves to be shamed on a grand scale.
Finally, the author professes insufficient evidence to choose between the two alternatives.
Sea Kings are designed to land on a ship in bad weather. I’m pretty sure they can fly in a slight drizzle in France.
Here we see Obama getting ready to board in far worse weather.
One of the reasons they use a Sea King is because of it’s all-weather capabilities.
He insults his intelligence community with impunity. Why not insult the service members who would get him to an important event safely?
While you’re at it, jerkbag, how’s about belittling the Secret Service. Seems like a smart move.
Everybody is to blame but him. We have the worst president ever.
-xtien
Maybe Trump objected to the name Sea King.
Noice. He’s Chicken of the Sea King.
-xtien