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| Family Research Council's Tony Perkins |
This afternoon featured more incompetence from Donald Trump and chaos over his tweeted ban of transgender men and women serving in the military.
And one fact came into focus. It was something we all suspected and now it is official. When Trump tweeted that he consulted with generals and military experts before the ban, he was lying through his teeth.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff, including chairman General Joseph Dunford, were not aware President Donald Trump planned to tweet a ban on transgender service members, three US defense officials told CNN -- the latest indication that top military leaders across all four service branches were blindsided by the President's announcement. For now, Dunford has informed service members that there will be "no modifications to the current policy until the President's direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidelines." "In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect," Dunford wrote in a memo to the military that was obtained by CNN. "As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions."
Politico reiterated this point:
Dunford's message was seconded later in the day by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis' chief spokeswoman. "The Department of Defense is awaiting formal guidance from the White House as a follow-up to the commander in chief's announcement on military service by transgender personnel," Dana White said. "We will provide detailed guidance to the department in the near future for how this policy change will be implemented. "ThedDepartment will continue to focus on our mission of defending our nation and ongoing operations against our foes, while ensuring all service members are treated with respect," she added. The Pentagon's position underscored how the military, like legal experts, does not consider the president's social media pronouncements policy.
That's the real world. In the fake world created by the religious right, groups like the Family Research Council continue to make Trump look like the second coming of John Wayne while omitting his incredible incompetence.