Yet another destroyer home-ported at Yokosuka was involved in a collision at sea, and our Commander in Chief had this to say about it:
President Trump, returning to the White House on Sunday night, responded to reporters’ questions about the collision by saying: “That’s too bad.” Later Sunday night, Trump tweeted, “Thoughts & prayers are w/ our @USNavy sailors aboard the #USSJohnSMcCain where search & rescue efforts are underway.”
“We’re all out of ice cream.” “That’s too bad.”
“I sure would like to buy this, but I forgot my wallet.” “That’s too bad.”
“One of our warships was hit by a much larger vessel, it’s in trouble, and sailors may be dead.” “That’s too bad.”
This is the man who commands the Navy in which my own son proudly serves. My anger at his flip attitude can hardly be contained.
Yes, later on he was no doubt instructed to tweet the right thing to say. But his first impulse, when confronted with another potentially deadly maritime disaster involving one of our deadliest and most valuable naval assets, was to use a phrase that is lame, pathetic, lightweight, ill-suited to the task, and ill-chosen to say the least. Just like Trump, himself.