Posted on 06/02/2019 1:46:13 PM PDT by Ennis85
The Pentagon sent a stern message to the White House over the weekend after it was confirmed officials directed the United States Navy to minimize the presence of the USS John McCain during President Donald Trump's recent visit to Japan.
What did the Pentagon say?
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan directed his staff over the weekend to reaffirm that the U.S. military will not be "politicized," Reuters reported.
"Secretary Shanahan directed his chief of staff to speak with the White House military office and reaffirm his mandate that the Department of Defense will not be politicized," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Colonel Joe Buccino said. "The chief of staff reported that he did reinforce this message."
While traveling to Seoul on Sunday, Shanahan reaffirmed his message to reporters accompanying him on the trip.
"There is no room for politicizing the military," Shanahan said.
What is the background?
On Saturday, the U.S. Navy confirmed the White House requested the USS John McCain be moved during Trump's visit to Japan, NBC News reported.
"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," Rear Admiral Charlie Brown, chief of information, told NBC.
According to Reuters, the request originated in the White House military office. Apparently, staffers believed the optics would not be good for the president since McCain was one of his biggest political rivals.
However, as Brown confirmed, senior Navy leadership refused comply with the request.
What is the White House saying?
On Sunday, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney downplayed the incident, calling the request "not ... unreasonable."
https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1135176786873081857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1135176786873081857%7Ctwgr%5E393039363b636f6e74726f6c&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblaze.com%2Fres%2Fcommunity%2Ftwitter_embed%2F%3Fiframe_id%3Dtwitter-embed-1135176786873081857%26created_ts%3D1559482211.0%26screen_name%3DMeetThePress%26text%3DWATCH%253A%2BActing%2BWhite%2BHouse%2BChief%2Bof%2BStaff%2BMick%2BMulvaney%2Btells%2BChuck%2BTodd%2Bthat%2Bmoving%2Ba%2BNavy%2Bship%2Bout%2Bof%2Bsight%2Bfrom%2Bt%25E2%2580%25A6%2Bhttps%253A%252F%252Ft.co%252FW5ZvDSw0DM%26id%3D1135176786873081857%26name%3DMeet%2Bthe%2BPress
Yep - I'm sure it was just a coincidence, back in 1945, that when the Japanese signed surrender documents, it was aboard a ship named after the President's home State.
Pure, random chance, without a doubt...
So the actual quote from the white house was “not .......unreasonable” ? Wonder how many words or sentences do those dots represent ?
The Blaze? Okey dokey then.
I think this was named for McTurd’s father
So is the Pentagon now admitting that our two main Poltical parties are a farce ? Or are they finally admitting that the Military Industrial Complex Partty is actually the Deep State ? Or is the Deep State actually a fourth party ? Inquiring minds want to know. And how does the Chamber of Commerce fit into all of this, one has to wonder.
The ship was named after his Father, not the dead RINO snake of the Senate.
touche’
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney tells Chuck Todd video 1:27
Interesting.
What a load of McCain shit
Was there this big of a scandal made out of Truman ordering the Japanese articles of surrender be signed on the deck of the battleship named for his home state?
Sell it to another Navy.
They were all named Sidney.
Everything about this article reeks of bravo sierra.
Yeah, and the ship collided with another a year or so ago and killed seven sailors if my memory serves. Bad luck. And lousy leadership and navigation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.