The U.S. Navy confirmed Saturday that a “request was made” to “minimize the visibility” of the USS John S. McCain during President Donald Trump’s state visit to Japan.
“A request was made to the U.S. Navy to minimize the visibility of USS John S. McCain, however, all ships remained in their normal configuration during the President’s visit,” Rear Adm. Charlie Brown, chief of Navy information, said in a statement.
“There were also no intentional efforts to explicitly exclude Sailors assigned to USS John S. McCain,” the statement said.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Wednesday that the White House wanted to move the destroyer — named partly for the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — “out of sight” ahead of Trump’s trip to Tokyo earlier this month.
Trump tweeted Wednesday that he “was not informed about anything having to do with the Navy Ship USS John S. McCain during my recent visit to Japan,” and told reporters at the White House on Thursday that whoever was responsible for the request was “well-meaning.”
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan denied knowing about the directive prior to the Wall Street Journal’s report, telling members of the media traveling with him Wednesday that “this morning was the first time I’ve heard about it.”
Shanahan on Thursday added that he “never authorized … any action around the movement or activity regarding that ship” and “would never dishonor the memory of a great American patriot like Sen. McCain.”
“The Navy is fully cooperating with the review of this matter tasked by the Secretary of Defense,” Brown said in his statement Saturday. “Our forward-deployed Naval forces continue to stand ready to execute their assigned missions.”
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine
Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/01/navy-mccain-ship-trump-1349478
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The Article Was Written/Published By: qforgey@politico.com (Quint Forgey)
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