In the face of antagonism from North Korea last week, Trump had said the USS Carl Vinson carrier group was being deployed to waters off the Korean Peninsula.
"We are sending an armada. Very powerful," Trump told Fox Business Channel's Maria Bartiromo. "We have submarines. Very powerful. Far more powerful than the aircraft carrier. That, I can tell you."
It turns out the carrier group was never actually steaming towards the peninsula, but rather heading to joint exercises with the Australian navy. US officials insist it's now on its way to the Sea of Japan, known in South Korea as the East Sea. It still hasn't arrived.
Of course, upon hearing the letters CNN, Trump supporters will immediately cry "fake news." They will have to do better than that because the anger in South Korea is real and raw. What can be worse than an American President publicly proclaiming he will come to your country's defense, not show up and having no intention of doing so. Well, I can think of one. Trying telling your average South Korean that their country used to be part of China. Could Trump have got that idea after his grandchildren serenaded Chinese President Xi Jinping?
In short, President Trump lied to South Korea. Then he disrespected her.
Unless Trump acknowledges his error and makes amends, the South Korean government has no reason to trust anything he or any other member of his administration has to say ever again.
The same could be said of America's allies and of the American voter.
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