Donald Trump is petty and stupid. He hated John McCain and John McCain hated him right back. Trump insulted McCain repeatedly and mocked his military service and his years as a POW, even though Trump never served and got out of the Vietnam draft because of his fake-ass bone spurs. There’s part of me that thinks that Trump probably believes he “won” his petty feud with McCain when McCain passed away. But McCain lives on in Trump’s lizard brain. McCain also lives on because the Navy named a giant warship after him: the USS John S. McCain was actually stationed in Japan during Trump’s state visit to the country. And this happened:
The White House asked Navy officials to obscure the USS John S. McCain while President Trump was visiting Japan, Pentagon and White House officials said Wednesday night. A senior Navy official confirmed he was aware that someone at the White House sent a message to service officials in the Pacific requesting that the USS John McCain be kept out of the picture while the president was there. That led to photographs taken Friday of a tarp obscuring the McCain name, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
When senior Navy officials grasped what was happening, they directed Navy personnel who were present to stop, the senior official said. The tarp was removed on Saturday, before Trump’s visit, he added. The White House request was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The crew of the McCain also was not invited to Trump’s visit, which occurred on the USS Wasp. But a Navy official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it was because the crew was released from duty for the long holiday weekend, along with sailors from another ship, the USS Stethem.
A senior White House official also confirmed that they did not want the destroyer with the McCain name seen in photographs. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the president was not involved in the planning, but the request was made to keep Trump from being upset during the visit.
“The official…said the president was not involved in the planning, but the request was made to keep Trump from being upset during the visit.” Donald Trump’s staffers handle him like an intemperate, tantrum-prone child. They also know his triggers, and one of his triggers is simply SEEING John McCain’s name. They knew if Trump saw McCain’s name on a bigly boat, Trump would throw a f–king tantrum about it and order all of the Navy’s ships to be named after HIM. This is just so… pathetic. The whole thing is pathetic.
Trump denied knowing about the McCain thing ahead of time. Which I sort of believe? This wasn’t Trump telling his staffers to cover up McCain’s name, this was a case where his staffers know his tantrums so well, they were trying to do advance work to make their jobs easier and less tantrumy.
JUST IN: On USS John S. McCain incident, President Trump reiterates that he wasn’t a fan of the late John McCain, but he wasn’t involved and “would not have done that” — though “somebody did it because they thought I didn’t like [McCain]. OK? They were well-meaning, I will say.” pic.twitter.com/rrtYpYq3FD
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 30, 2019
Also, this happened this morning…I’m going to throw up.
WATCH: After tweeting this morning that "I had nothing to do with Russia helping me to get elected," President Trump tells reporters that “No, Russia did not help me get elected. You know who got me elected? I got me elected. Russia didn’t help me at all.” pic.twitter.com/7IFOx96Sdd
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 30, 2019
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
I am just blown away by this. Someone ACTUALLY did this. Someone said, “omg if Trump sees the McCain name on a ship he is going to flip so we need to cover it up” so then someone else said “okay! lets get a big tarp!” and they COVERED IT UP. Like, there are a lot of people involved there going along with it before someone said “um, no.”
But he loves the troops, right? Supports the military? Loves the flag?
I’m so disgusted by him AND by those around him who enable him.
Also, what’s the saying? Don’t let someone live rent-free in your brain? Trump needs to stop letting McCain live rent-free in his head. The fact that he is still so fixated on him is just weird.
Staffers trying to avoid the entire trip becoming an endless rant about McCain while the Japanese PM looked on helplessly. Seriously, they JUST got him to stop telling the story about winning the 2016 election while abroad. If the WH staff are not currently day drinking I predict they will be by 2020.
I’m sorry but do you guys honestly believe Trump didn’t ask his staffers to do this?? LOL. You are believing a pathological lie whose lie count is at 10,000? The Navy would not have moved ahead to make those changes (over the heads of the admirals or whatever) without notice from the orange turd. Trump is petty as F and definitely asked that those on the ship not be invited. Trump always has his lackeys take the fall for him. Wash. Post or the NYT will probably get the real scoop later.
The Emporer’s pettiness knows no bounds.
Manchild Trump
Truth
No the original story was this… The wanted the USS McCain actually MOVED out of its berth., as to not offend the royal trumps eyesight!! It was changed later to the solution of covering this battleships’ name!!!
He’s puttering around in his boxy shiny suit. Like a fat pompous goose. Loving his military parades here and there. Oh my god how I want to scream.
Me too!!!!
Inwardly, I’m standing in a corner of my mind howling like a banshee.
His hair looks like a bad hat. I hope it’s itchy.
Impeach.
Edited to add:
Also, why is he incapable of holding a drink with one hand?
Because of the tiny tiny hands of a tiny tiny man.
Wish I could “like” this a million times! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
He holds his drinks with both hands like a person who is in the early stages of Parkinsons. It is an abnormal posture for an adult and looks like an effort to compensate for having difficulty getting an object to his mouth.
Hate the guy’s politics but my nursing eye sees someone in significant physical and mental decline.
I 100% agree with you. I grew up in a personal care/assisted living home and that is always what I see. Physical and mental decline. That angry face that gives it away. So much confusion.
I think you are spot on. Funny this is not brought up more often.
In order to give the anus mouth, flaccid ass, soul dead turd deniability. “I didn’t do it. One of my buttlicking, brown nosing sycophants did it.”
And they were responding to the “code” (described by Cohen), no doubt. He may not directly order it, but those around him know what he wants done.
No, little baby child ordered it. He can’t seem to get over McCain, so he does the next best thing. He is such a disgrace to the American public and the way other countries view us around the world.
Agreed, he told his peons to do it. The Navy is not going to take orders from KellyAnne Conway without the Presidential seal, he is the Commander in Chief they have to follow direct orders from him.
It sucks having a fragile man baby in the White House
Sucks so bad.
they should try honey nut cheerios. you get 100,000 bribes in a box for under $5. at least that works with my toddler.
Right?!! If he likes a meatier treat, I use Pet Botanics Bacon Rewards with my Lab puppy. To be fair, she is learning & needs less of them every day. Trump’s people would need to budget for the long haul.
What have lizards done?
Don’t go insulting them!
😉 🦎
He looks almost apoplectic in that live interview. I hope Mueller got under his skin. I believe this story. I read that ship wasn’t just named after McCain, it was also for his father and grandfather, who I understood were great military leaders. So much for loving the troops
Yes, they were both admirals, and I think Senator McCain was added relatively recently (I’m not sure when is “recently,” but it was after the ship was named for his grandfather and father.) It just adds to his pettiness. McCain comes from a family of service and the American people respect that. Trump wants that respect and cant get it.
Both McCain’s father and grandfather were admirals. His father served in WWII, Korea & Vietnam and continued to work for the military after retirement. He died on a military plane. The grandfather served in both World Wars and played a major role in the Pacific victories. As the war was ending, he asked to retire because his health wasn’t good but they asked him to stay on for the treaty signing, which he did. He died days after the ceremony of an untreated heart ailment.
Roberta McCain, age 107, is alive to witness this insult
I thought of his children, and forgot that Roberta also has to witness this petty nonsense.
Trump will never have his own warship (unless he, God forbid, becomes full fledged dictator), and he knows it. This guy lives for having stuff with his name on it.
Oh I’m sure he will get one, unfortunately.
I’m shocked he hasn’t tried to put his name on them already.
I don’t think he’ll get one though. Maybe they can name a federal prison after him!
It is so terrifying that someone so easily triggered has the nuclear codes.
That was my first thought too. They worried he’d be so easily triggered by seeing a name, yet is mentally fit to be POTUS? I think not.
Everyone in the cabinet who knows he’s unfit and does nothing are complicit.
Right now I weep for America. But I’m getting tired of weeping.
Congress impeached Bill Clinton over a blowjob. Why are the American people putting up with this shit?
I can’t believe we have this cretin as president. He is so monumentally embarrassing and disgusting, there are no words.
I dread the absolute humiliation he will cause on his UK trip. GAH!!!!
Oh he is utterly seething in those clips, he’s practically jumping up and down in rage. Even being asked about McCain is enough to send him over the edge.
This is rooted in his covering up his own cowardice-he’ s afraid of his own shadow, but being a loud mouthed bully has convinced his clan he’s a tough guy..if someone could manage to confront him with a little dirt and a few mosquitoes he’d pee his pants (and I’d laugh so hard I’d probably do the same..)
The USS John S McCain is named for THREE men who served in the US Navy. My heart goes out to 107 year old Roberta McCain to see her husband, son, and father-in-Law so disrespected after giving so much.
The sailors on the ship Trump did visit were made to wear patches honoring Trump.
This is a disgrace
It really is.
No seriously I’m at the point where I legitimately cannot understand how someone is willing to -not just vote for, but I’m talking to people in money/political power positions- but just baseline take this guy seriously and not actually just put him in a gold covered home somewhere to live out his days. Like, we have all been seeing this since day one, right? And there are people in power, right? I just don’t get it because frankly the only thing that WOULD make sense is a conspiracy theory where someone is pulling the strings to benefit from this.
….*narrators voice*…. someone was pulling the strings (shows pictures of russian oligarchs laughing with a shirtless Putin)
Because the GOP is fundamentally an un-American party who serve their money, crime, or their warped version of Jesus (which isn’t really Jesus by any sane definition but cover for racism and misogyny). They cheat to win because they are a minority party. They are criminals. And almost all of them have taken Russian money, if not directly then via the NRA. Many are being blackmailed. And some are just cowards in love with their own power.
Someday we will all laugh at the stupid, childish & embarrassing things this man has done as he becomes the faded joke he inevitably will become. Like in ‘Santa Clause is Comin’ To Town’ when the Burgermeister Meisterburger dies/falls out of power. All remnants of his existence fall into dust.
That day cannot come soon enough.
This is what I do to keep my 3 year old from tantrumming if she sees ice cream and I don’t want her to have it. I block her vision if possible. This is what staffers have to do to stop our president from behaving like my 3 year old. Smh
The mental gymnastics his supporters go through to consistently reframe their justification of their vote must be exhausting.
I always thought even the ugliest man looks good in a tux.
Boy was I wrong
What is really scary is the fact that a whole chain of command was willing to go out of their way to fulfill this asinine request. That is stuff of dictatorships. I am not saying Trump is one, but there are obvious cracks in the institutional structure surrounding him. It is extremely worrisome, especially if the next president turns out to be worst just by being more effective in its evil intent.
I didn’t agree with much of Sen McCain’s politics, but he, his father and grandfather collectively served honorably and heroically in WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. The ship honors all 3 of them and their exemplary service to our country in wartime.
Fred Trump was arrested at a Klan rally and was investigated by Eisenhower after WWII for war profiteering.
And fred’s father was kicked out of Germany which is why that misbegotten family is here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t drumpf #1 run a string of whorehouses?
He did. And he got kicked out of Germany for refusing to do his military service.
Cowards – the whole lot of them — it’s genetic. Just like their grifting, and being amoral sociopaths.
This was a failure of U.S. Navy leadership. They need to hear from us, and heads need to roll for this absolutely inappropriate action. This would have had to be signed off on down the line. It is reprehensible!
There is a Facebook page for Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson:
https://www.facebook.com/CNORichardson
Also one for Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer:
https://www.facebook.com/SECNAV76
That is such a disrespect not only to the late John McCain and his family, but also to our servicemen and women. Even if he didn’t want any reminders of Senator McCain, who everyone with a brain respects for his heroic service, our military members often do not have a say on what ship they are stationed, you get what you get. What a kick in the pants for the sacrifices they endure by leaving their families for months at a time to serve…”go hide yourselves”. Pathetic.
As many have pointed out, the USS McCain is named in honor of John Sydney McCains I-III; all men who served in the Navy with distinction. I think it was Roberta McCain who said that, when her grandson went into the Navy, four generations of John McCains were Navy officers. You can’t discuss modern US Naval history (WWI on) without mentioning at least one John McCain.
I think one reason Trump hates McCain so much is because they were both sons of “privilege” during Vietnam: Trump used his privilege to dodge the draft, McCain willingly served and earned respect. McCain was not a hero or respected because he was captured; he earned respect because he refused to be released early because of who his father was and endured a living hell that Trump couldn’t imagine in his wildest dreams. When the Viet Cong found out who McCain was and that his father was the US Pacific Commander, they literally thought they had captured the “crown prince” and that getting him to confess his crimes against the Vietnamese and then letting him go would be great PR for them while giving America a black-eye. When McCain refused because military protocol demanded that POWs be released in order of capture and he had pride in his military training and family, the Viet Cong tortured him even more. He wasn’t perfect and never claimed to be, but he had morals and a code of ethics that he stuck to, even when it meant going against his own party. His entire family has served this country and have made sacrifices, sometimes the ultimate sacrifice, to defend it. Can Trump even say he’s served his country well?
Very well said! I’m waiting for Lindsay Graham to stand up and defend his good friend John McCain III and his family from this shameful incident. The crickets are deafening do far. SMDH
Graham is a lost cause.
I wouldn’t expect anything from Graham. I think he’s being blackmailed and McCain protected him. Once McCain could no longer do that, Graham made a 180 degree turn to become a frothing-at-the-mouth Trumpy.
He’s so petty and undignified.
This is what a complete lack of honor looks like.
Too bad his “heel spurs” prevented him from having his own glorious military career. I think of the word John Steinbeck fought so hard to include in The Grapes of Wrath: shitheel. He didn’t join the service because he is and will forever be a shitheel. Unworthy in all endeavors. Cowardly. Spiteful. Vindictive. Treacherous. Bone Lazy. Selfish. This is what we elected (arguably elected given all the crimes he did to get there).
This is a terribly, sad moment in American history. I cannot believe the American media is not rage-storying this. Trump is disgraceful but American media is failing the country, right behind the Courts and the Congress. Congress is a lost cause. Informally, the media is also part of the check and balance system and is failing dismally. It is like everyone has given up at this point, allowing this lunatic president (small p intended) to demolish the government. So horrifying to watch.
It’s not even the worst thing he asked for that day, but for reason the ridiculous pettiness of this annoys me a lot. Not like ending Roe or blackmailing Kennedy into quitting or putting children in cages for brownness or trying to make Nazis good people, but just…. words fail at the petty.
It appears that senior Navy personnel said “Nope” and the tarp was removed. I just can’t with this guy anymore.
Then they moved a barge in front of the name so the Orange Baby couldn’t see the name McCain from where he was standing.