President Donald Trump sits down to dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. CREDIT: AP Photo/Susan Walsh.
This is an overload of facepalm. And near fatal eyerolling. And head desking. Underneath the idiocy of it all, is the scary.
According to a remarkable CNN report, President Trump was eating dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his private Mar-a-Lago club on Saturday evening when he received a call on his mobile phone informing him that North Korea had tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
[…]
Trump and Abe were seated in the middle of the club’s dining room, allowing members of the club to gawk as the two heads of state grappled with matters of war and peace.
“As Mar-a-Lago’s wealthy members looked on from their tables, and with a keyboard player crooning in the background, Trump and Abe’s evening meal quickly morphed into a strategy session, the decision-making on full view to fellow diners, who described it in detail to CNN,” Kevin Liptak of CNN wrote.
But White House strategist Steve Bannon and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn were sitting elsewhere in the dimly-lit dining area, so they had to huddle closer to Trump while he tried to deal with an international crisis.
“The patio was lit only with candles and moonlight, so aides used the camera lights on their phones to help the stone-faced Trump and Abe read through the documents,” CNN reports.
“Even as a flurry of advisers and translators descended upon the table carrying papers and phones for their bosses to consult, dinner itself proceeded apace. Waiters cleared the wedge salads and brought along the main course as Trump and Abe continued consulting with aides.”
In other words, Trump — who made Hillary Clinton’s email security the centerpiece of his presidential campaign — discussed sensitive national security matters in front of waiters and diners who were later able to describe the scene “in detail” to reporters.
Some onlookers posted photos and accounts of what they saw on social media. (FB post at the main link.)
At Abe’s urging, the two heads of state decided to offer a joint statement before the assembled press. The New York Times praised the “uncharacteristic restraint” Trump demonstrated while reading his brief statement, but when he left the briefing room, the president couldn’t restrain himself from dropping in a wedding reception.
According to CNN, Trump grabbed a microphone at the reception and paid tribute to the newlywed couple, saying, “I saw them out on the lawn today… I said to the Prime Minister of Japan, I said, ‘C’mon Shinzo, let’s go over and say hello.’ “
“They’ve been members of this club for a long time,” Trump added. “They’ve paid me a fortune.”
Jesus Fucking Christ Onna Stick.
To capitalize on the the premium people are willing to pay for access to the president, the Trump Organization recently doubled the Mar-a-Lago initiation fee to $200,000. Trump has spent two of his three full weekends as president there.
Jesus Fucking Christ Onna Stick. I can’t even. Full story at Think Progress.
I know this doesn’t matter at all, but wedge salads? Really? People are paying insane amounts of money for a food fad that was briefly popular in the 1970s, and vanished rather quickly? No wonder his restaurants get such lousy reviews.
Benghazi!
Or something.
US president is a clown. And not very funny one at that. I know children who are more mature in their behaviour.
Two observations: (1) Abe & his advisors were complicit — He / they should have said, perhaps initially, and in any case, as soon the conversation was apparent, “Mr President, This matter needs further discussion in a secure area”; and (2) When the news was delivered, it should have been something like, “Mr President, Mr Prime Minister, An incident has happened which security protocol requires to be discussed in a secure area”.
Assuming the security staff from one or both nations are on the ball, it should be the case hair furor will get a chewing out, and — more effectively — his aids ordered to insist on only telling teh trum-prat in a secure area, with instructions to refuse any order / shouting with something like “Sir! The matter involves security and I will not jeopardize my country [or your profits –blf] by providing any further information here, in the open.” Which can be made possible by the individual not knowing what is up, her / his orders are simply to inform hair furor he is expected in the local secure area.
Blf:
Oh fuck that noise. This happened in the States, and it was Trump’s fucking responsibility to handle it correctly. How fucking far do you think Abe would have gotten, trying to argue with the asshole about leaving Trump’s little spotlight?
This is one more example of just how unsuited he and his minions are to hold office.
Caine, Professionals have protocols and reviews. There was a failure here, the professionals should be reviewing it and re-enforcing / implementing steps to reduce / eliminate future similar occurrences. Yes. hair furor and the Prime Minister were the two individuals who engaged in a highly dubious act. With this incident as an example, professionals can alter the protocols appropriately. And they don’t need teh trum-prat’s permission to deploy or to use.
The Prime Minister could have got up and refused to return until teh trum-prat behaved himself, explaining hair furor had just threatened the security of Japan. He was not glued to the chair. As an experienced politician, with diplomatic and security aids with him (and ditto for teh trum-prat (presumably)), he would have probably found a less drastic step.
I had to look up ‘wedge salad’. How do you eat one of those without making a mess of yourself?
As for PM Abe and not being glued to the chair, honestly -- he’s visiting a foreign country, and would probably follow the lead of that country’s president. After all, if the president says it’s okay to talk sensitive matters in his very own club, he’s sure to have had it checked out beforehand. As for expecting hair furor to start behaving himself if PM Abe leaves, well, I can imagine how well that might go.
Abe behaved exactly like a Japanese politician in a foreign country.
As did his team.
He could absolutely not have just got up and left.
Blf:
Yes, they do. And you are completely fucking wrong. Abe is a minister from another country, one which places a great deal of weight on politeness. Getting up and leaving would not only have been irresponsible as fuck, it would have been beyond fucking rude. The only reason Trump was restrained in response (remarkably so, is being reported) is due to Abe’s presence, so maybe you should be on your fucking knees thanking Abe you aren’t being crispy crittered by the Tiny Tyrant.
There is exactly one person at fault here, and it’s Trump, because the godsdamned fucking asshole is not capable of being a president of anything, let alone a country. He picked his clown car staff, it’s all down to him.
Abe probably just feels grateful that Trump didn’t throw up all over him.
Yes, I think Abe desperately tried to save face after having been shown around like a prize pony.
Also, Trump billing the USA to host dinner parties at his club isn’t even corruption anymore. It’s somewhere beyond that.
Giliell:
Oh yes. That had to be absolutely humiliating for him.
BLF, You watch too much TV, but not enough Trump on TV. How do you honestly think Abe had any control in that situation? And as was pointed out here and in other threads, he would have been stupid to get up and leave. He’s a diplomat, he’s dealing with a clown, but a clown that has the intelligence on North Korea that he needs.
I don’t think the photo above is of the same dinner where the North Korea interruption occurred. Instead, it’s the meal with Trump and Abe where Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, was a guest (left foreground). The latter being, as we all know, a key expert on foreign policy.