Trump Forced The Military To Hide The USS John McCain During His Trip To Japan

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In a rather shocking example of just how petty the current commander-in-chief is, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that during Donald Trump’s recent trip to Japan, he forced the military to keep the USS John McCain “out of sight.”

According to the report, “The White House wanted the U.S. Navy to move ‘out of sight’ a warship named for the late Sen. John McCain, a war hero who became a frequent target of President Trump’s ire, ahead of the president’s visit to Japan last week, according to an email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.”

Since the warship was difficult to move ahead of Trump’s visit, The Journal noted that the U.S. military hung a tarp over the ship’s name and even moved a barge nearby to obstruct the view.

Sailors who work aboard the ship were even given the day off since they wore hats bearing the name of the USS John McCain.

More from the report:

In a May 15 email to U.S. Navy and Air Force officials, a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command official outlined plans for the president’s arrival that he said had resulted from conversations between the White House Military Office and the Seventh Fleet of the U.S. Navy. In addition to instructions for the proper landing areas for helicopters and preparation for the USS Wasp—where the president was scheduled to speak—the official issued a third directive: “USS John McCain needs to be out of sight.”

…

Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan was aware of the concern about the presence of the USS John McCain in Japan and approved measures to ensure it didn’t interfere with the president’s visit, a U.S. official said.

There were discussions within the U.S. military over the past week about how to handle the warship, another U.S. official said. The ship is being repaired after a 2017 collision, and any ship undergoing such repair or maintenance would be difficult to move, officials said. A tarp was hung over the ship’s name ahead of the president’s trip, according to photos reviewed by the Journal, and sailors were directed to remove any coverings from the ship that bore its name. After the tarp was taken down, a barge was moved closer to the ship, obscuring its name. Sailors on the ship, who typically wear caps bearing its name, were given the day off during Mr. Trump’s visit, people familiar with the matter said.

Trump will never come close to being the man John McCain was

Since Donald Trump attacked John McCain’s status as a war hero during the 2016 Republican primary campaign, his treatment of the late Arizona senator has only become more despicable.

In fact, just months after McCain passed away, Trump continued to wage attacks about the late senator’s vote on health care and his role in handing over the so-called Steele Dossier to the FBI.

There are two reasons Trump can’t stand John McCain:

1. McCain – up to his very final days – refused to be the Trump lapdog that just about every other member Republican member of Congress has become.

2. McCain is well-respected by members of both parties for having served his country in the same war that Trump bought his way out of.

Donald Trump might be able to hide a warship, but he can’t change the fact he will never come close to being the man John McCain was.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.

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