President Donald Trump engaged in a juvenile display of one-upmanship Thursday afternoon, releasing a letter announcing he was canceling (“postponing”) Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to visit the troops in Afghanistan. The trip itself was classified, as they always are, to protect the safety of the Speaker.
“Due to the Shutdown,” Trump wrote in the letter made public by Sarah Sanders, “I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed,” Trump wrote.
“We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over.”
The President also called the trip a “public relations event,” and incorrectly characterized her travel. Speaker Pelosi was not stopping in Egypt, and the Brussels stop was to refuel.
“In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate,” the President said.
As Commander-in-Chief, Trump has the ability to dictate use of military aircraft.
But just after Sarah Sanders was sending out this letter, First Lady Melania Trump was making her way on a presidential military jet – what would have been Air Force One had the President been on board – heading towards Mar-a-Lago.
The Twitter account CivMilAir, which tracks civilian and military aircraft of note, posted the First Lady’s trip at 4:30 PM ET, playfully hashtagging the post, “#MelaniaForceOne.”
Just before 5 PM she was over North Carolina:
Politico and CNN verified the First Lady’s flight:
Naturally, the mocking began quickly:
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Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license