Top advisers in more displays of disagreement with Trump

[webfact]

Top advisers in more displays of disagreement with Trump

By Jonathan Landay and Jeff Mason

 

FILE PHOTO - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis addresses a news conference during a NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis openly differed with his commander in chief over North Korea on Wednesday, the latest example of a once-rare public display of disagreement by top U.S. aides that has become more frequent under President Donald Trump.

 

"We are never out of diplomatic solutions," Mattis told reporters, just hours after Trump said in a tweet that "talking is not the answer" to the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs.

 

His public contradiction of Trump's position came a day after the Pentagon chief, a retired four-star Marine general, appeared to delay implementation of Trump's decision to ban transgender people from enlisting in the military.

 

Mattis was also among the senior aides, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, who implicitly criticized the Republican president's response to violence at a rally organised by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.

 

Presidents often disagree with senior advisers over policies or other matters but the differences are usually confined to internal deliberations and become public only through leaks or much later in memoirs, historians and former government officials said.

 

"I haven't seen a modern president with a pattern of this many high officials saying things like that," said Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian.

 

Asked in a television interview on Sunday whether Trump's initial comments blaming "many sides" for the violence in Charlottesville instead of focussing on neo-Nazis and white nationalists raised questions about his values, Tillerson said simply: "The president speaks for himself."

 

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders sought to play down the significance of Tillerson's comments.

 

"I don't think anyone has tried to distance themselves. I think that at moments maybe you have people that disagree. I think that's a healthy thing for you to be able to have productive conversation," Sanders told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday.

 

But Beschloss said the differences being aired publicly were notable.

 

"These are people protecting their reputations in real time, and that is something you usually do not see in high-level officials around a president," he said.

 

'BEST ADVICE'

 

Mattis has repeatedly made clear that diplomacy - backed by a credible military option - is the only way to prevent the North Korea crisis from escalating into a potentially devastating conflict.

 

When asked about Mattis' comments on Wednesday, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said: "Secretary Mattis provides the President with his best advice. It is the President who makes the ultimate decisions."

 

Leon Panetta, who served as defence secretary and CIA director under former Democratic President Barack Obama, said the airing of differences inside the Trump administration had its roots in the president's habit of sharing his opinions in Twitter posts.

 

"I think the problem is that they (advisers) are now dealing with a president who tweets his thoughts to the country," said Panetta, who has said he had his own policy differences with Obama.

 

"He's not the kind of individual who sits down with his national security team and tries to work these issues out in a policy process that is confined to the White House."

 

Earlier this month, a video posted on social media showed Mattis telling U.S. troops that the United States has problems that its military does not have. "You just hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other and showing it," he said.

 

The impromptu speech, believed to have been made during an Aug. 21 visit to Jordan, came after the violence in Charlottesville in which a woman was killed and many people were injured.

 

Cohn clearly distanced himself from Trump's comments on the violence, and officials said he considered resigning.

 

"Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK (Ku Klux Klan)," he said in an interview with the Financial Times on Aug. 25.

 

Jennifer Lawless, a professor of government at American University, said it was significant that several of Trump's advisers distanced themselves from Trump's comments on Charlottesville.

 

"That makes it very difficult for him" to retaliate against individual advisers, she said. "You can't go after every single member of your Cabinet. That makes it look like maybe you've made wrong choices."

 

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Warren Strobel and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-31

[boomerangutang]

On every level, Trump is hemorrhaging support, daily. He's like a cornered mad dog, with villagers coming at him with pikes.

[Silurian]

People are still dealing with Donny John like he wants to be president. He doesn't want to be president he wants to play the part of being president. Donny John likes to spout off how great he is doing and it doesn't matter to him what is done behind the scenes as long as he takes credit for any positive news whether or not he did it. I doubt he sees any insurrection or defying of his orders as much as he sees things getting done that highlight his presidency. As long as his advisers perform their job in the dark on the back end and Donny John gets the spotlight, he is happy.

 

Donny John will hold his ego stroking rallies while the real people get things done off to the side. Hopefully congress will realize that they can actually move forward and Donny John will go along just to show how great he is.

 

[Jonnapat]

At least Sarah Sanders is always good for a laugh.Never yet said anything meaningful.

[spidermike007]

Of course his top advisors are disagreeing with the deflector in chief. They are men who possess common sense, intelligence, and intellect. And most of all, they are not led entirely by their emotions, nor a constant need for vengeance. 

 

In terms of North Korea, there is no military option, unfortunately. At least none that could not lead to a massive conflict, costing tens of thousands of lives, lasting up to 30 years, and costing the US tens of trillions of dollars. Yes, I said trillions.

 

The problem with an issue like this, is that it takes a great leader to apply himself. Trump is neither a great leader, nor a man who applies himself intellectually. He possesses the same kind of hubris that led Tiny George II, Little Dick Cheney, Dum Dum Rumsfeld, and Paul the Wolf, to make the kinds of horrific miscalculations they made in Iraq. 

[tomwct]

Most of you guys are Nuts! 7 1/2 more years of Making America Great Again! The Left Wing Loons have no chance of winning any Red States! PS: Looks like Minnesota turning Red!

[howbri]

GO DONALD. DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!!!!!!!

[ilostmypassword]

6 minutes ago, tomwct said:

Most of you guys are Nuts! 7 1/2 more years of Making America Great Again! The Left Wing Loons have no chance of winning any Red States! PS: Looks like Minnesota turning Red!

 

3 minutes ago, howbri said:

GO DONALD. DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!!!!!!!

2 typical well reasoned dispassionate data-driven contributions from Trump supporters.

[Thaidream]

The only swamp that is going to be drained is the swamp Donald Trump has created for himself.  Trump is his own worst enemy and every tweet he sends out shows how disconnected he is from reality.

 

General Mattis knows well that a military solution in Korea would be disastrous.  Trump actually thinks that using the military in a first strike could work. I seriously doubt any in the military would obey such a ridiculous order unless there was a fuelled missle with a nuclear warhead sitting on the launchpad in North Korea with the target being the US or an American ally,  Trump is losing or has lost the support of all those around him as they know exactly what he is- a narcissistic meglomaniac and incompetent who is being related to a figurehead because he can't be trusted to make a cogent decision.

 

When History is written- Donald Trump will go down as the worst President ever elected. However, his supporters who are less and less won't believe it.

[YetAnother]

Come on this is funny, Trump can't find any compatible employees

[iReason]

1 hour ago, tomwct said:

Most of you guys are Nuts! 7 1/2 more years of Making America Great Again! The Left Wing Loons have no chance of winning any Red States! PS: Looks like Minnesota turning Red!

 

Boy, are you gonna be red when the occupier of the White House resigns in disgrace.

While a number of his brethren face prison.

 

Parroting empty platitudes is desparate and pointless...

[RobFord]

Come on this is funny, Trump can't find any compatible employees

Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[boomerangutang]

58 minutes ago, tomwct said:

Most of you guys are Nuts! 7 1/2 more years of Making America Great Again! The Left Wing Loons have no chance of winning any Red States! PS: Looks like Minnesota turning Red!

Why only 7.5 years?  When he sees the rat cage with the gate open at the end of his first or 2nd term, he can simply declare himself 'president for life'.  Several old men have done that, even in recent times:  Marcos, Papa Doc, Sukarno, Amin, Bokassa, Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, Castro, ....the list is long.  

 

Who's going to stand in his way?  All he has to do is;

 

>>>  declare a national state of emergency.  As easy as taking a pee.  He can just tweet it out.

>>>  call all the top brass into the WH and tell them what has to be done:  mobilize troops to back up all uniformed authority in quelling major uprisings.  Small uprisings, no problem, they'll peter out after a half day or so.

>>>  give a teleprompter speech saying "I didn't want to do this, folks, but I'm compelled to do this for the good of the country and for all you wonderful people watching this.  Some of you may not back me right now, but you will soon see the wisdom of my decision and you will come to love it and love me.  God Bless America."

[boomerangutang]

4 minutes ago, iReason said:

Boy, are you gonna be red when the occupier of the White House resigns in disgrace. While a number of his brethren face prison. Parroting empty platitudes is desparate and pointless... 

                       I want to agree with you iReason.  But I'm still feeling chaffed by the buffoon winning the electoral college in Nov.  I was among those who thought, for sure, HRC would win.  My confidence (in my predictions) took a hit.  Plus, I lost $100 in a bet with a right-wing friend of mine.

 

                       The campaign and election in 2016 showed many things.  Among them, was how many ignorant hyper-selfish rednecks there are in the US.  It showed that many liberals were too confident in HRC winning, that they either didn't bother to vote, or wrote in some nonsense like 'Mickey Mouse.'    It also showed how effective massive smear campaigns by US and overseas hackers can be.  And it turns full-circle to showcase how incredibly gullible and quick-to-hate a portion of Americans are.  Their hate is also based in fear:  .....of too many things to list here.  That's one of the reasons they own most of the guns and ammo in the US.

[craigt3365]

2 hours ago, howbri said:

GO DONALD. DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!!!!!!!

He'll have to as there's no more room in the swamp as he's filled it to over flowing!

[Thaidream]

If Donald Trump would win another term (God Forbid) and at the end of the term attempt to stay in power- the military would never obey an order of this kind. He would be detained and probably arrested as he would have no legal standing to remain as President.  In fact, I have my doubts that as President right now if he gave an order to launch a first strike nuclear weapon - the military would carry out this order.

[boomerangutang]

16 hours ago, Thaidream said:

If Donald Trump would win another term (God Forbid) and at the end of the term attempt to stay in power- the military would never obey an order of this kind. He would be detained and probably arrested as he would have no legal standing to remain as President.  In fact, I have my doubts that as President right now if he gave an order to launch a first strike nuclear weapon - the military would carry out this order.

I hope you're right about the nuke part.

 

                      Re; a possible coup d'etat.  The US, in its 240 years since its break up with Britain, has never had a coup, ....not even an attempted one.  That might change within the next 7 yrs.  I'm not saying that hopefully.  How would The Dufus in Chief orchestrate staying in power beyond an elected term?   It's not really that difficult.   Since the military control the most weaponry, the key would be to control how military leaders think/act.

 

                         In Thailand, Thaksin tried to do it, in 2002, and failed.  He took Thailand's top military brass out to play golf, a few days before his fateful trip to Finland and NYC.  Trump could do similar; summon his top brass, and try convincing them to not activate against him.  It may work, or it may not.

 

                       Trump is quite effective in influencing people around him.  Even those who have left in a huff, like Flynn, Bannon, Gorka, Priebus, Spicer, ....haven't openly turned against Trump.  They're probably waiting until he's out of power, to write their tell-all books.  

 

 

Edited September 1, 2017 by boomerangutang

[joecoolfrog]

On Thursday, August 31, 2017 at 10:22 AM, tomwct said:

Most of you guys are Nuts! 7 1/2 more years of Making America Great Again! The Left Wing Loons have no chance of winning any Red States! PS: Looks like Minnesota turning Red!

Medication time methinks.

[CaptHaddock]

22 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

I hope you're right about the nuke part.

 

                      Re; a possible coup d'etat.  The US, in its 240 years since its break up with Britain, has never had a coup, ....not even an attempted one.  That might change within the next 7 yrs.  I'm not saying that hopefully.  How would The Dufus in Chief orchestrate staying in power beyond an elected term?   It's not really that difficult.   Since the military control the most weaponry, the key would be to control how military leaders think/act.

                

 

I think you have to count the Kennedy assassination as a coup d'etat.  Also, Zachary Taylor, who was blocking the Compromise of 1850, was probably assassinated, unless you believe the story that he was the first person in history to die of cherries and milk while exhibiting the symptoms of arsenic poisoning.

 

American exceptionalism dies hard.

[ilostmypassword]

What makes this a really an interesting case of doublethink is that the people who are defending him are the same ones who would deny the truth of what he said.

[selftaopath]

On 9/1/2017 at 10:35 AM, boomerangutang said:

I hope you're right about the nuke part.

 

                      Re; a possible coup d'etat.  The US, in its 240 years since its break up with Britain, has never had a coup, ....not even an attempted one.  That might change within the next 7 yrs.  I'm not saying that hopefully.  How would The Dufus in Chief orchestrate staying in power beyond an elected term?   It's not really that difficult.   Since the military control the most weaponry, the key would be to control how military leaders think/act.

 

                         In Thailand, Thaksin tried to do it, in 2002, and failed.  He took Thailand's top military brass out to play golf, a few days before his fateful trip to Finland and NYC.  Trump could do similar; summon his top brass, and try convincing them to not activate against him.  It may work, or it may not.

 

                       Trump is quite effective in influencing people around him.  Even those who have left in a huff, like Flynn, Bannon, Gorka, Priebus, Spicer, ....haven't openly turned against Trump.  They're probably waiting until he's out of power, to write their tell-all books.  

 

 

I agree with you Boomer... I think there is more than an "outside chance" of him doing this. I'll bet he's thought a/b it. I read recently it could be done under the "right" circumstances. He could say b/c of national security he is suspending elections...... there ya go..... 

 

I'm not sure the military brass would dis-regard a direct order however so it's imperative that the spineless congress act and put country b/f party i.e. self interests.  

 

I wonder if 45 was struck by lightening would there be a parade? :-) 

[Silurian]

9 minutes ago, selftaopath said:

I wonder if 45 was struck by lightening would there be a parade? :-) 

 

Huh, so that is what happened? I knew there had to be a reason for his behavior.

Edited September 2, 2017 by Silurian