The Trump White House’s inability to keep secrets is causing some to wonder what’s going on after Vice President Mike Pence canceled a speech he was to deliver in New Hampshire and had his plane reportedly turned around to headed back to D.C.
This came just hours after reports that 14 Russian military officers and troops died in a submarine fire, and Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled a meeting to instead meet with his Defense Minister.
Pence’s White House spokesperson denied reports – even from Fox News – that there was any emergency.
“Vice President Pence’s abrupt decision Tuesday to abandon plans to fly to New Hampshire for an opioid event — and instead return to the White House — has prompted confusion and conflicting statements from members of his team, as administration officials refused to divulge the reason for the last-minute change,” Fox News, which daily runs interference for the Trump administration, was forced to report.
Here’s how Fox News originally reported the event:
CNN’s Brian Stelter notes Fox News reported Pence was “about to land in New Hampshire” and was “turned around.”
Pence’s spokesperson told a very different tale:
And as many on Twitter noted, the White House has no credibility, so it’s insistence nothing was afoot was not believed.
To make matters worse, some on Twitter recklessly claimed the EU Security Council had been called in to a special meeting as all this was going on.
The EU Security Council does not exist.
Bottom line: The White House is bad at nearly everything it does and no one is telling the American people what’s actually going on.
Image by The White House via Flickr