Trump National Security Team Blindsided by NATO Speech

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

When President Donald Trump addressed NATO leaders during his debut overseas trip little more than a week ago, he surprised and disappointed European allies who hoped—and expected—he would use his speech to explicitly reaffirm America’s commitment to mutual defense of the alliance’s members, a one-for-all, all-for-one provision that looks increasingly urgent as Eastern European members worry about the threat from a resurgent Russia on their borders.

That part of the Trump visit is known.

What’s not is that the president also disappointed—and surprised—his own top national security officials by failing to include the language reaffirming the so-called Article 5 provision in his speech. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson all supported Trump doing so and had worked in the weeks leading up to the trip to make sure it was included in the speech, according to five sources familiar with the episode. They thought it was, and a White House aide even told the New York Times the day before the line was definitely included.

...snip...

The president appears to have deleted it himself, according to one version making the rounds inside the government, reflecting his personal skepticism about NATO and insistence on lecturing NATO allies about spending more on defense rather than offering reassurances of any sort; another version relayed to others by several White House aides is that Trump’s nationalist chief strategist Steve Bannon and policy aide Stephen Miller played a role in the deletion. (According to NSC spokesman Michael Anton, who did not dispute this account, “The president attended the summit to show his support for the NATO alliance, including Article 5. His continued effort to secure greater defense commitments from other nations is making our alliance stronger.”)



Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/06/05/trump-nato-speech-national-security-team-215227

[Achilleaze]

1. the republican Draft Dodger-in-Chief is a yuuge disappointment...

...for those who were dull enough to actually believe anything he said during the campaign which he lost by 3 million votes.

But for honest American citizens who were actually paying attention, and not expected to be overwhelmed by an underhanded and treasonous russian-republican attack on democracy, Comrade Casino is no disappointment. He is the precise & catastrophic lying, cheating a-hole we all saw coming a mile away.

Sad.

[rooboy]

2. Typical behavior of a narcissist.

When you really need them to do something, they will go out of their way to let you down.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. His Russian master directed that this happen

and he made is so.

[ananda]

12. Yep

Tinkle Tinkle
Little Czar
Putin put you
Where you are

[BumRushDaShow]

14. LOL

[JI7]

15. yup. all they need to do is look at evidence we have so far

And his own actions which continue to prove putin is in control.

None of them should be blindsided based on that.

[rpannier]

4. I'd say they should resign

But (and this is rather sad and scary), I am afraid they aren't going to resign because the three of them may feel they need to stay on to keep him from going completely off the rails
I am fairly certain that is true of Mattis

[zentrum]

7. No, they should resign.

They clearly have no control over him, so there's no point in staying.

By resigning they can make it be writ large that he's a wild dog, and thereby would help to bring him down.

He would be made publicly weak if they resign. But I don't think they have the guts to do that.

[Renew Deal]

5. He read the version his Russian handlers cleared.

[wishstar]

6. President Bannon's right wing influence supported by Fox news extremists

Trump is not a loose cannon, he is being nudged and pushed by the far right who are constantly doing everything possible to keep the 37% of deplorables behind Trump, at any costs. Those tweets are't random nonsense either, they are dog whistles being suggested and directed by his puppeteers behind the scenes.

[riversedge]

8. Since Trump is not taking advice from his own team, WHO is he taking advice from?? Bannon? Infowars?

fox news? --Putin? Probably all and other RW folks.

[Sunlei]

11. even republicans have said it, trump "is" whoever is"in his face"that day or week. Mostly his daily

mostly his DAILY call-in or daily "interview with fox & friends"

Nights sitting awake with? Bannon? kellyanne? the Rove people 'management team" moved into in the white house 2 months ago?

[rpannier]

17. Sludge Report

The voices in his head
The talking transluscent moose he sees after hours
Faux couch sitters
That weak as water jack ass that claimed Maxine Waters shoved him
The voices in his head

[harun]

19. The AOFF, American Oligarchy Forever Foundation (n/t)

[Sunlei]

9. He did nothing on that trip! Republicans should have sent trump to florida & sent Pence/Ryan

Another Hospital not built in America because Republicans squander millions and millions to send that useless man on expensive trips.

[Historic NY]

10. With the cauldron bubbling in Qatar, and

US wanting more allied (NATO) in Afghanistan. Maybe its time to say no to Trump. Afghanistan is neither winnable nor is it stable, continuing to pump in troops is doing nothing beyond creating an permanent occupying force. The Taliban continue to control the majority of the country, lessons of the soviet experience are forgotten.

[Turbineguy]

13. As an agent for Russia, he did his duty.

[War Pigs]

22. sure seems that way

what more could Vlad ask for. Chaos and delegitimize all western alliances and norms. mission accomplished cheetolini

[keithbvadu2]

16. Putin is getting his money's worth for investing in Trump.

[Alice11111]

21. I believe Putin got far more than he wanted. He probably

wishes he had predictable Hillary and not 24/7 publicity focused on the Russian finances and Billionaire Putin allies laundering schemes.

[harun]

18. Wow, Putin has line item veto of Trump's speaches

[JHan]

20. this is terrible