It's As If Trump Wanted to Make Joel's Head Explode

Although, as usual, what he said wasn't as stupid as what he is reported to have said.
The issue came up when an audience member asked Trump: "As president, what specifically would you do to support all victims of sexual assault in the military?"

Trump had agreed it's "a massive problem," and something should be done.

"The numbers are staggering, hard to believe it even -- but we're gonna have to run it very tight. I, at the same time, want to keep the court system within the military. I don't think it should be outside of the military," Trump said.

There is an existing military court system, with judges, prosecutors and courts martial, but lawmakers have sought to change the current system to better address sexual assault.
I think every headline version of this I've seen has claimed that Trump said he wanted to 'set up' a court system in the military. What he really said was that he wanted to keep the court system for these charges within the military. Given that some in Congress are talking about what can be done to further stem sexual assault in the military, this sounds less like the blathering of a moron who doesn't know anything and more like a kind of left limit to the sorts of reforms he'd entertain.

I'm not sure that the press didn't really hear him say he wanted to 'set up' a court system in the military, rather than that he wanted to 'keep' these cases there. They seem to want to have heard it very badly.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

They mean to lie. Their behavior is too consistent.

Valerie

douglas said...

Well, this time they could be right, depending on how you parse Trump here- which is a difficult task. From the Transcripts:
DONALD TRUMP:

20:50:49:24 It’s a great question and it’s a massive problem. The numbers are staggering, hard to believe it even– but we’re gonna have to run it very tight. I, at the same time, wanna keep the court system within the military. I don’t think it should be outside of the military.

20:51:01:19 But we have to come down very, very hard on that. And your daughter is absolutely right. It is a massive problem. But we have to do something about that problem. And the best thing we can do is set up a court system within the military. Right now, the court system practically doesn’t exist.


As usual, it's about as clear as mud, but it's not unreasonable to say he said he wanted to 'set up' a court system in the military.

That's part of the problem with Trump, he's so sloppy in his speech that it can very difficult to defend him if you're so inclined.
The best I've seen at it is Kayleigh McEnany. If Trump was smart, he'd consider her for WH Spox if he wins. She's fearless, unflappable, and excellent at turning the conversation to something advantageous for the side she's defending.

Eric Blair said...

Well to be fair, any reporting on sexual assaults in the military make it sound like there isn't anything being done about it right now.

We all know that isn't true, and we all know that the process has it's own issues.

It's basically a 'gotcha' question that in someways isn't even the President's purview.

Ymar Sakar said...

For the cynical faction, they can just assume everyone is lying about everyone. Makes things easier.