Trump dumps blame for botched Yemen raid on everyone else. Shocking as this is the same guy who blamed his Electoral College count on someone else's bad info, Obama for leaks, the media for...well...everything, but strangely takes credit for the January jobs numbers. Hmmm, oh well. From Vice News. https://news.vice.com/story/trump-blames-generals-for-navy-seals-death-in-yemen-raid
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Trump blames “very respected” generals for Navy SEAL’s death in botched Yemen raid
The first military operation approved under Donald Trump’s leadership — a botched raid in Yemen in January — left one U.S. soldier and multiple civilians, including children, dead. Facing mounting pressure and a mourning father asking tough questions, Trump pivoted the blame away from his administration and onto his “very respected” generals and his predecessor.
“This was a mission that started before I got here,” Trump told “Fox and Friends” co-host Steve Doocy during an interview televised Tuesday morning. “They came to me, they explained what they wanted to do — the generals — who are very respected. My generals are the most respected that we’ve had in many decades, I believe. And they lost Ryan.”
Trump was referring to Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens, who died in the mission, which reportedly failed to yield any useful intelligence.
Even before Trump’s comments on Fox, White House aides defended the mission as the brainchild of the Obama administration. Senior officials under Obama told CNN, however, the former president never approved the mission.
Why it’s not normal:
As president, Trump serves as the commander in chief of the United States military and gave the order for the covert mission in Yemen. Prior to his comments on Fox, he also repeatedly called the mission, the first for his administration, a “success” — even as Owens’ grieving father refused to meet with him and demanded an investigation.
As the Huffington Post pointed out, presidents from Obama to Harry Truman — who famously popularized the slogan “The buck stops here” — have taken full responsibility for their administrations’ decisions, even if they turned out badly.
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ian bremmer
✔@ianbremmer
Trump passing buck for a soldier's death in the field possibly his worst judgment as President to date.
11:26 AM - 28 Feb 2017
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Trump blames “very respected” generals for Navy SEAL’s death in botched Yemen raid
The first military operation approved under Donald Trump’s leadership — a botched raid in Yemen in January — left one U.S. soldier and multiple civilians, including children, dead. Facing mounting pressure and a mourning father asking tough questions, Trump pivoted the blame away from his administration and onto his “very respected” generals and his predecessor.
“This was a mission that started before I got here,” Trump told “Fox and Friends” co-host Steve Doocy during an interview televised Tuesday morning. “They came to me, they explained what they wanted to do — the generals — who are very respected. My generals are the most respected that we’ve had in many decades, I believe. And they lost Ryan.”
Trump was referring to Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens, who died in the mission, which reportedly failed to yield any useful intelligence.
Even before Trump’s comments on Fox, White House aides defended the mission as the brainchild of the Obama administration. Senior officials under Obama told CNN, however, the former president never approved the mission.
Why it’s not normal:
As president, Trump serves as the commander in chief of the United States military and gave the order for the covert mission in Yemen. Prior to his comments on Fox, he also repeatedly called the mission, the first for his administration, a “success” — even as Owens’ grieving father refused to meet with him and demanded an investigation.
As the Huffington Post pointed out, presidents from Obama to Harry Truman — who famously popularized the slogan “The buck stops here” — have taken full responsibility for their administrations’ decisions, even if they turned out badly.
View image on Twitter
Follow
ian bremmer ✔@ianbremmer
Trump passing buck for a soldier's death in the field possibly his worst judgment as President to date.
11:26 AM - 28 Feb 2017
