On CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan asked Sen. Tom Cotton not only about the U.S. offensive in Iran, but also about the way that Donald Trump alerted the public to the military operations. “Do you believe that the American public is owed something more than a Twitter video?” she asked.
The Arkansas Republican insisted that Trump’s messages were “in keeping with presidential custom.”
In reality, nothing about the weekend’s announcements was customary.
While the president’s decision to launch another pre-emptive attack in the Middle East was indefensible for a great many reasons, the way that he conducted himself over the weekend made the crisis even worse.
Indeed, Trump is the only modern American president to start a war while failing to treat the circumstances with the kind of sobriety and solemnity Americans have come to expect from national leaders.
The trouble began long before bombs started dropping — the Republican, for example, failed to even try to make the case for the conflict — but it came into sharper focus on Saturday morning, when the president released a prerecorded online video at 2:30 a.m. ET announcing the beginning of military operations, all while wearing a baseball cap for reasons that went unexplained.
One might have expected a statement from the Oval Office, but Trump instead launched a war from his glorified country club in Florida, apparently preferring Mar-a-Lago to the White House Situation Room.
As Saturday came to an end, the president capped the day by attending a glitzy fundraising dinner at his club, hosted by a super PAC aligned with his political operation. The New York Times reported:
The president did not let the bombing of Iran upend his schedule, including his plans to attend a fund-raising dinner to support MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC.
[White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt] said Saturday that Mr. Trump had no intention of breaking that commitment.
In a statement to MS NOW, Leavitt said the president’s appearance at the fundraiser for the super PAC was “more important than ever,” though she didn’t elaborate on why.
Trump even struggled to communicate news about the deaths of U.S. service members in ways that reflected presidential maturity.
“Sadly, there will likely be more,” the Republican said in a second online video statement (this time, without a baseball cap). Appearing to break from the text on his teleprompter, he added, “Before it ends, that’s the way it is. Likely be more.”
Those looking for a leader whose actions were “in keeping with presidential custom” had to look elsewhere.
