Day 706: Trump finally heads to war zone; of course it didn’t go smoothly

Donald Trump, after nearly two years, finally visited American troops in an active war zone. While previous presidents made trips early and often, Trump waited over 700 days, amidst numerous economic and political crises, to make a three-hour trip to Iraq.

The short jaunt was far from perfect.

Trump’s trip wasn’t in front of rank-and-file boots on the ground, rather a select few dozen special operators. There, he told the troops about pulling out of Syria, “We’re no longer the suckers, folks.” What that means about the people who will have to continue the fight against ISIS — including stanch U.S. allies — is clear: they’re the suckers who are responsible for making sure that ISIS is stomped out.

He couldn’t let a non-partisan event stay that way either.

And lied to people who obviously know better.

Trump offended Iraq’s prime minister.

And his visit also revealed a covert SEAL mission in Iraq, because he liked the photo-op.

The president’s video posted Wednesday did not shield the faces of special operation forces. Current and former Defense Department officials told Newsweek that information concerning what units are deployed and where is almost always classified and is a violation of operational security.

The purpose of the trip was apparently to check some boxes while dodging brutal domestic headlines. While Trump visiting troops should be commended — as overdue as it was — he did the bare minimum and managed to bungle a trip that lasted only slightly longer than a movie.

706 days in, 756 to go

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