'I could've f------ gone!': Trump blamed John Kelly for his own decision to bail on a WWI memorial visit, according to a new book
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Politics'I could've f------ gone!': Trump blamed John Kelly for his own decision to bail on a WWI memorial visit, according to a new book
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President Donald Trump previously blamed his former chief of staff, John Kelly, for the critical reception he received following his decision to bail on a cemetery visit to memorialize World War I veterans.
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Kelly and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, went to the cemetery as part of a US delegation. "I could've f------ gone!" Trump said to aides, according to a new book written by two Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters from the Washington Post.
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"I was willing to go! They're killing me for it!"
President Donald Trump privately blamed his former chief of staff, John Kelly, for the critical reception he received following his decision to bail on a historic visit to memorialize thousands of World War I veterans.
As part of a broader tour of Europe to mark the 100th anniversary of World War I, Trump was scheduled to visit the the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery on November 10, 2018. The cemetery is a hallowed ground where over 2,280 troops who fought in the war are buried, and where 1,060 service members whose remnants were unrecoverable are memorialized. Roughly 116,500 US troops died during the war.
According to a new book written by two Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters from the Washington Post, Trump told his staff that he did not want to make the trip to the cemetery, about 55 miles from central Paris.
"I don't think I'm going to go," Trump said, Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig wrote in their book, " A Very Stable Genius ."
The book is sourced from hundreds of hours of interviews with over 200 sources, including White House officials and unofficial Trump advisers.
Trump was supposed to travel by helicopter on the rainy and cloudy day, which prompted safety concerns, the White House said at the time, a decision that provoked days of media scrutiny.
Kelly, a retired four-star Marine Corps general and a Gold Star father; and his deputy, Zach Fuentes, told Trump that he could defer to the inclement weather conditions and invoke a "weather call" to cancel the trip, according to "A Very Stable Genius." Traveling by motorcade had its own problems, including a one-and-a-half hour commute and creating additional traffic.
Kelly and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, went to the cemetery as part of a US delegation. Other world leaders also attended the event, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Meanwhile, back in the US, Trump received attention for not attending the solemn event.
"It's incredible that a president would travel to France for this significant anniversary - and then remain in his hotel room watching TV rather than pay in person his respects to the Americans who gave their lives in France for the victory gained 100 years ago tomorrow," David Frum, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, said in a tweet .
Then-conservative British MP Nicholas Soames, a grandchild of former prime minister Winston Churchill, also chimed in by suggesting in a hashtag "#hesnotfittorepresenthisgreatcountry."
"They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate [Donald Trump] couldn't even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen," Soames tweeted .
trump macron france
'They're killing me for it!'
Trump fumed at the critical response he received and the glowing endorsement of Kelly. The president blamed his chief of staff, according to the book, for not taking into account the backlash in him not attending the ceremony.
"I could've f------ gone!" Trump said to aides. "I was willing to go! They're killing me for it!"
"Your general should've convinced me to go," Trump said to Fuentes, adding that it was "a stupid decision."
Fuentes replied, "Sir, we made the best decision we could."
Trump later told other advisers that he would have been "happy to go," and that he did not care about the rainy conditions.
"It was John Kelly's decision [that] I couldn't go," he said to advisers.
Trump would attend another World War I event in Paris the next day. It was raining when he delivered his remarks at the ceremony: "Through rain, hail, snow, mud, poisonous gas, bullets and mortar they held the line and pushed onward to victory."
The incident "proved to be the final straw" for Kelly, Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig explained. He would resign roughly a month after the trip.
Kelly's 16-month tenure was marked with turmoil within the Oval Office. The lifelong Marine was reportedly brought into the administration to curb the freewheeling antics of advisers during the first year of Trump's presidency. But Kelly's decisions reportedly infuriated other senior advisers, including Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Following the unceremonious ouster of secretary of state Rex Tillerson, a close ally, Kelly was said to have felt defeated in March 2018.
"The forces of darkness have won today," Kelly said to aides, according to the book.
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"It's incredible that a president would travel to France for this significant anniversary - and then remain in his hotel room watching TV rather than pay in person his respects to the Americans who gave their lives in France for the victory gained 100 years ago tomorrow," David Frum, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, said in a tweet .
Then-conservative British MP Nicholas Soames, a grandchild of former prime minister Winston Churchill, also chimed in by suggesting in a hashtag "#hesnotfittorepresenthisgreatcountry."
"They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate [Donald Trump] couldn't even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen," Soames tweeted .
but, but, but...
like his women, it was cold.
.
he is correct, this 'man' does not represent our country, and neither do his defenders
Speak for yourself.
I agree with Iggy 1000%. He can speak for me.
I would prefer that he never attend any memorial for troops anywhere. He does not deserve to attend any of them.
They'd just be offended by the sound of bone spurs walking past their graves...
Trump does not seem to know how to take responsibility for things that dont go well. I guess when you have spent your life as a cheat, a fabulist, a liar and a crook , reality seems like something to manipulate.
I feel sorry for him in the sense that he is going down in history as someone who constantly makes excuses for himself and blames others, and it is all out in public.
The buck doesn't stop with tRump, it goes in his pocket.
How do you know that?
Because that's what Trump said to the press. I mean, has anyone ever known dirty dishonest Donald to lie?... /s
No, he's just going down in all the tell-all books - 'the latest explosive revelations'.
"Trump blames," could have let it go at that.
Expletives aside; More proof that the Trump was sent by gawd?
Tells you everything you need to know about their "sources". They were probably sourcing off each other, and other media members. Goebbels would be proud of them.
Goebbels is proud. The unnamed sources are afraid. Fear is power.
The whistleblower?
What do you mean by that?
Why should unnamed sources be afraid? They have the high moral ground, right?
High moral ground? Depending upon the motive and the subject of which they are concerned.
Example: If I were an honest person and concerned about corruption in the Russian government, a sense of fear would be justified.
If anything was incorrect/untrue, the shitstain in chief would be calling out to sue their asses.
It's all true.