May 30, 2019

For the Record: Here’s the Email Telling the Navy to Hide the USS John McCain

Here’s the fabled email instructing the Navy to keep the USS McCain out of sight during President Trump’s visit to Japan:

President Trump says he knew nothing about this. The secretary of defense says he knew nothing about it either. I believe them. This was cooked up by Trump aides in the White House who were worried that Trump might have a meltdown if saw the McCain in port.

Just think about that. Trump’s staff lives in such terror of their man-child that they were afraid he might explode during a military review if he happened to catch sight of the words “USS John McCain” on the side of a naval vessel. Ladies and gentlemen, this is your commander-in-chief.

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Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

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