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People on that 2018 trip to France, where Trump took the time to greet Putin, but not to honor American war dead, have now confirmed @JeffreyGoldbergâs reporting to the @washingtonpost @AP and @foxnews. So who was there with Trump? https://twitter.com/jamesfallows/status/1301859736439136258
According to a White House press release at the time: âThe President and First Lady will also visit several memorial sites to pay tribute to the American service members who sacrificed everything to protect our cherished freedoms. ...â https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-president-donald-j-trumps-upcoming-travel-france/
And then they didnât go. And Trump was roundly mocked for it. âFormer presidential aides doubted Trump's storyâ and âFrance's army appeared to mock Trump on Twitter ... tweeting an English-language hashtag saying the rain didn't bother them.â https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-world-war-i-france-memorial-rain-2018-11?amp
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alsp skipped the rainy drive. So who did go? Then-White House chief of staff John Kelly and Gen. Joseph Dunford, who at the time was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/white-house-decision-cancel-veteran-s-cemetery-france-visit-creates-n934796
And the mockery continued... including from a descendant of Winston Churchill... https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/white-house-decision-cancel-veteran-s-cemetery-france-visit-creates-n934796
Not sure who else was there, but notably, James Mattis quit the administration about a month later, citing the discrepancies between his and Trumpâs worldviews, particularly on how America should treat our post World War I and II allies and adversaries. https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2018/12/trump-mattis-retire/153739/
The logical assumption is that news outlets seeking to confirm @TheAtlantic reporting would try to get Trumpâs statements confirmed or denied by these men and their staffs (the first lady has mounted a defense but as the reporting confirms, she was a cancelee with her husband.
Have or will Dunford, Kelly or Mattis, or anyone from their staffs deny that Trump said what âsenior administration officialsâ (senior enough to be in casual conversation with the president) told @JeffreyGoldberg that Trump said? Were any senior Republicans there? Tick tock...
