
Can you say ‘bad timing?’ This isn’t really a good time to shut down the revered 160-year-old military newspaper The Stars and Stripes.
From NPR:
The Pentagon ordered the closure of the venerable military newspaper, Stars and Stripes on Friday. But hours later, President Trump tweeted that he wouldn’t allow that to happen “under my watch.”
The twists and turns played out as Trump faced a firestorm of criticism for reportedly calling American Marines who died in World War I as “losers” and “suckers.” Trump vehemently denied the remarks, though several news organizations have now cited sources saying he made the statements in 2018 during a trip to France.
Stars and Stripes remains popular among many military members and has bipartisan support in Congress, especially among those who previously served in the armed forced.
But a memo signed by U.S. Army Col. Paul Haverstick said the newspaper would be shut down by Sept. 30, the last day of the government’s 2020 fiscal year. The memo gave no reason for closing the publication other than saying funding was not in next year’s budget request.
We know Trump has serious issues with the free press but this really takes the cake.
Considering the day he’s having with the article from The Atlantic about calling military service members “losers” it’s no surprise he reversed on this one.
The United States of America will NOT be cutting funding to @starsandstripes magazine under my watch. It will continue to be a wonderful source of information to our Great Military!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2020
Trump Translation:
"I will no longer do the horrible thing that I was going to do, because decent people objected to how horrible it was and now I will pretend I'm decent for disagreeing with my horrible self from earlier today!"
You're like clockwork, Orange.
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) September 4, 2020
CONVENIENT TIMING
The USA, under Trump's "leadership," was indeed due to cut funding to @starsandstripes but then the report from @TheAtlantic came out & suddenly Trump cares about the military newspaper!! Oh please. https://t.co/jvSrkrAcHX
— MURRAY 🗽 (@murray_nyc) September 4, 2020
TRANSLATION: "I didn't realize that people would figure out I ordered the Pentagon to shut down Stars and Stripes, so I'm going to undo that stupid decision I made."https://t.co/kKOJLb08XF
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) September 4, 2020