State Dept spox Heather Nauert, in 1st briefing of Trump admin, is flipping between pages of a 3-4 inch thick binder to answer questions
— Jon Ward (@jonward11) June 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/willrahn/status/872169142312480770
There seems to be some … confusion about the White House’s stance on Qatar:
.@statedeptspox: "Our relationship with Qatar is strong.” cc: @realDonaldTrump
— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) June 6, 2017
.@statedeptspox US "grateful to the Qataris for enduring commitment" in support US in region.
— Julian Borger (@julianborger) June 6, 2017
OK, but:
Just the opposite of what @POTUS tweeted this morning. https://t.co/pru1AIJbLB
— The Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) June 6, 2017
Here’s what Trump tweeted today:
During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
It sounds like he’s suggesting that Qatar hasn’t done enough to fight radical Islamic terrorism.
So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
…extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017
Recommended
According to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, Trump’s tweets are official presidential statements:
"They're considered official statements by the president of the United States" @PressSec just said of Trump tweets
— Sarah Boxer (@Sarah_Boxer) June 6, 2017
"They are considered official statements by the President of the United States," says Spicer of @realDonaldTrump tweets.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 6, 2017
Spicer says Trump’s tweets are “considered official statements of the President of the United States” https://t.co/09pp3vtrSD
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) June 6, 2017
OK, but yesterday, Kellyanne Conway tried to downplay the importance of Trump’s tweets:
WATCH: “This obsession with covering everything he says on Twitter and very little what he does as president…” –@KellyannePolls pic.twitter.com/iyS3WnHoxh
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 5, 2017
And during yesterday’s White House press briefing, Sarah Huckabee Sanders mocked the media’s “obsession over every detail of the president’s tweets.”
So … which is it? Does the White House have a strong relationship with Qatar or a strained one? Whose words represent the White House’s official position on the issues?
Can't wait for Trump's tweet stating his tweets are not official statements https://t.co/enbn3wVfar
— kilgore trout was in the loop (@KT_So_It_Goes) June 6, 2017
***
Update:
It seems the contradiction bug is catching:
Pentagon: We can't square Trump's comments with our position on Qatar https://t.co/GAjRr42CD8 pic.twitter.com/O55TUMWhaX
— The Hill (@thehill) June 6, 2017
More from The Hill:
“I can’t help you with that,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said in response to a question about reconciling the president’s social media remarks and Department of Defense comments about the U.S. ally.
“I will only tell you that we have, with regard to our bases there, continued presence in our operations.”
…
The president’s comments were strikingly different in tone and substance from the message sent a day earlier by Defense Secretary James Mattis and other U.S. officials.
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