Here’s the latest on our misplaced aircraft carrier:
Press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday the White House does not bear responsibility for public statements indicating that a U.S. aircraft carrier was headed for the Korean Peninsula earlier this month when it was, in fact, sailing in the opposite direction.
All questions as to why the USS Carl Vinson and its accompanying strike group were photographed traveling south past Indonesia after U.S. officials said the vessels would be deployed in the waters off the Korean Peninsula should be directed to the Pentagon and U.S. Pacific Command, Spicer said.
Well duh. Of course the White House bears no responsibility. Just because Donald Trump is the commander-in-chief doesn’t mean the buck stops with him.
But I still want to know something: Who gave the order for the Carl Vinson to steam toward North Korea? Was it Trump? What order did he give? Was that order carried out? Or was it someone else’s decision entirely?
This is, admittedly, something of a gotcha question, but it’s also a real question. The chain of command starts with Trump, and we all have a stake in how well it’s working. This particular mistake—if mistake it was—was fairly harmless. That might not always be the case.
