How a war hero became a 'trigger' for Trump
By Froma Harrop
Syndicated columnist
That was a pretty stunning story about the White House asking some Navy officials to move the warship USS John McCain “out of sight” during President Trump’s recent visit to Japan. The obvious fear was that sharing any stage with the war hero would unhinge the president. McCain died last August from brain cancer.
This is pretty wild stuff.
Higher-ups in the Navy reversed earlier efforts to cover the ship’s name with a tarp. Trump denies he knew about the request, as does acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan.
Believe them, or don’t. What cannot be denied is that someone in the White House emailed the 7th Fleet urging that McCain’s name be kept out of Trump’s line of vision. Please confirm that the request “will be satisfied,” the White House Military official wrote in a follow-up message to the Navy.
Also, sailors wearing the USS John McCain’s insignia were not allowed to board the amphibious assault ship Wasp, where Trump was giving his Memorial Day address. Sailors from other ships were invited aboard.
What we have here is a trigger warning at the presidential level. A trigger warning cautions that a work to be presented contains writing, images and/or concepts that some people might find distressing. Popular on some college campuses, trigger warnings have been subject to much-deserved ridicule.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/harrop-how-a-war-hero-became-a-trigger-for-trump/
