On the morning of Jan 13th Donald Trump arrived at his International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, FL. At 1:07 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), residents in Hawaii received notifications of an incoming ballistic missile and were told to take shelter immediately and that, “THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” Three minutes later, Hawaii State Adjutant Maj. Gen. Joe Logan confers with US Pacific Command and confirms that there is no imminent missile strike. It was not until 1:23 p.m. ET that the White House issues a statement, if it can even be called which says that they are “aware of the alerts and clarification,” but cannot say whether Trump has been briefed on them. At this point in the series of events anyone who is paying attention should be asking themselves the same question: How is it that the American President can be blissfully playing golf at his resort and unaware of a potentially catastrophic situation unfolding on U.S. soil? At 2:44 p.m. ET, the White House releases a statement declaring that, “[Trump] has been briefed on the state of Hawaii’s emergency management exercise. This was purely a state exercise.”
They do not correct their mistake that the notification was not a state exercise until almost twenty minutes later. Trump’s first statement since the fiasco comes at 5:08 p.m. ET and it was remarkably pathetic. He tweeted about so called “Fake News” and the illegitimacy of the press and denounces the “mentally deranged author” of “Fake Book.” For someone who is so quick to take to Twitter to voice his many opinions and diatribe, Trump once again showed his lack of competency as a leader and seemingly dearth of concern for what really is going on in America.
It speaks to the nature of our leader when he seems to care more about his crusade against his opposition in the press than a possible ballistic threat. It is worth noting here as a brief aside that as of last week, President Trump had said more than 2,000 things that were either totally false or misleading (according to a count kept by
The Washington Post
). That’s more than 5.5 lies (at best factually inaccurate) a day, every day. If anything here is fake news it is his Twitter account.
Donald Trump has ostensibly spent the day golfing and continuing a dangerous war against his perceived enemies, the press, and seems to not even be aware of the events of the day. A full six hours after the first alert at 7:20 p.m., Trump was prompted to comment on the events in Hawaii by a reporter:
“Well, that was a state thing. But we’re going to now get involved with them. I love that they took responsibility. They took total responsibility. But we’re going to get involved.”
While he is technically correct, that the source of the warning message was a state-sponsored protocol and result of someone in Hawaii’s mistake, the bigger point that Trump misses is that the threat of a ballistic missile is a national issue. Regardless of the authenticity of the threat when the systems in place to protect the American people indicate an imminent threat, or in this case when a message is sent in error, it immediately becomes a national issue. Does the President think that the mudslides in California are strictly a state issue and not a larger national concern? He certainly seems to be of the opinion that the state of disrepair and chaos that Puerto Rico is in is largely their own issue.
The reporter then asked the President if he would ensure that a similar event would not happen again. To whit, Trump responded, “Well, we hope it won’t happen again. But part of it is that people are on edge, but maybe, eventually, we’ll solve the problem so they won’t have to be so on edge.”
This kind of response was woefully inadequate and failed to address the fear the residents in Hawaii felt in the thirty-eight minutes between the first alert and the subsequent reversal. Parents panicked and lowered their children into the sewers in a desperate attempt to get them to safety. Security cameras show a calm scene and then a stampede of people evacuating and fleeing to their families or loved ones. Though the President is not at fault for the error of every State Employee he is responsible for assuring the American people of their safety. If actual safety is not possible then at the very least the President should be a voice of unity and attempt to assuage the concerns of his citizens. Trump failed to meet the very low threshold expected of him. All that was appropriate or needed from him on this day was a statement that Hawaii was not under attack and that the source of the mistake would be found.
There are many disturbing parts of to this news story, from the fact that a statewide alert can be so easily accidently sent out to the response of the President there exist many opportunities for worry and concern. What concerns me most in this entire saga, however, is the total and absolute believability of a ballistic strike on U.S. soil. The situation with North Korea has been handled so boorishly by our commander in chief that the prospect of aggression from Kim Jong-il is not only plausible, it may even be inevitable. It sounds more like a line out of a bad fiction novel or the story arc of one of the Fallout games, but for the first time since the Cold War the threat of nuclear missiles being launched is plausible. In a time where diplomacy and tact is needed our President needs to remember to prioritize our saftey over his ego.
I see no possible redemption for Trump in this instance. It is notable that the usual loyal legions of Trump’s supporters have not yet been able to justify this faux pas either. In era where the competency and sanity of the President is in question, threats towards the United States must be taken seriously. It is not a partisan issue. I do not have the answers on what it would take for Trump to start acting presidential.
In my eyes, and in the eyes of many Americans, he woefully failed yet again at the nation’s helm. I give no stock to the argument that his response was adequate. Only though bipartisan efforts can we right this ship.
