In a story published Wednesday, the New York Times alleged that President Trump revealed to Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte the location of two U.S. nuclear submarines lurking in the waters off the Korean peninsula, ready to counter any acts of aggression by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Here’s what Trump allegedly said, according to a transcript of the call, which was circulated to reporters by the Americas wing of the Philippines embassy. The contents of the document were later confirmed by "a senior White House official." Per NYT:
“We have a lot of firepower over there,” Mr. Trump noted. “We have two submarines – the best in the world. We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all.”
The NYT is once again bashing Trump for his "loose lips," even though Trump’s comments were clearly meant to assuage concerns expressed by Duterte, who told Trump that he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is “unstable” and a danger to the entire region.
“He told Trump that “as long as those rocket and warheads are in the hands of Kim Jong Un we will never be safe as there’s no telling what will happen next.”
First it was the Russians, now it’s the Filipinos. But regardless of with whom Trump decides to share classified information, there are two important details these mainstream media reports have consistently glossed over.
One... Did Barack Obama, George Bush, or Bill Clinton ever share secrets during conversations with foreign leaders? The story doesn’t tell us.
Two... It’s not illegal for Trump to share these secrets. Yet the stories seem to imply that some kind of grave impropriety was commented by the president. Not so.