Administration adopts a 'Never-Mind-What-Trump-Said' foreign policy
02/20/17 11:35 AM
By Steve Benen
On his first full day as president, Donald Trump delivered a speech at CIA headquarters, where he lamented the fact Americans did not take Iraqi oil after the 2003 invasion. “The old expression, to the victor belong the spoils,” the new president said, adding, “We should’ve kept the oil. But, okay, maybe we’ll have another chance.”
A few days later, in an interview with ABC News, Trump said, four times, “We should have taken the oil.” Asked about the “maybe we’ll have another chance” comment, Trump added, “We’ll see what happens. I mean, we’re gonna see what happens.”
Nearly a month later, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Baghdad this morning, declaring, “We’re not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil.”
I call this part of the “Never-Mind-What-Trump-Said’ approach to foreign policy, which follows an increasingly familiar pattern: the president makes a ridiculous comment, which creates international alarm, which leads to leading members of the Trump administration trying to reassure global observers that there’s simply no reason to take the leader of the free world’s claims seriously.
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http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/administration-adopts-never-mind-what-trump-said-foreign-policy
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