THURSDAY OR FRIDAY
by Sharon Rondeau
(May 30, 2019) — In ad hoc comments to reporters on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One to speak at a graduation ceremony, President Trump said his administration will be issuing “a major statement on the border” on Thursday or Friday.
In a replay of his remarks by Fox News, Trump said he will be making “probably my biggest statement” on border security later today or Friday while covering a range of topics from Robert Mueller’s remarks Wednesday morning to Russia to China to denying a report that he requested that the name on the USS John McCain be covered or the ship moved out of sight while he visited Japan last weekend.
Trump’s statement on the latter appears to be in direct contrast to reports by ABC News and The Wall Street Journal which said that the White House requested that the ship be moved out of sight but that Navy “leaders” defied the order.
Trump told reporters that whoever ordered that the ship be moved or its name obscured “meant well” but that he knew nothing of the plan, echoing a tweet he sent out on Wednesday evening.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan also denied knowledge of the alleged email The Journal and ABC News reviewed, Fox News reported Thursday.
The Fox News article stated that, “Ultimately, the Journal reported, the tarp that covered the name of the USS John S. McCain was removed Saturday and the paint barge that obscured the name was removed as well – both ahead of Trump’s visit, Cmdr. Clayton Doss, a spokesman for the Navy’s Seventh Fleet, told the newspaper.”
In response to one reporter’s question, inaudible over the sound of the helicopter, Trump said, “I’ve exposed corruption like nobody knew existed.”
Trump needs to address the highway checkpoints or lack there of issue.