Cartoon

Three Stooges

Written by SK Ashby

(Cartoonist - )

In other news, Trump's personal driver of 25 years is suing him for unpaid wages.

Meanwhile, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear has announced that he'll challenge Governor Matt Bevin in 2019.

Finally, Trump's vague talk about exercising the "military option" in Venezuela last year was apparently more than just a whimsical threat. Trump talked about invading Venezuela multiple times over several months with his cabinet and with other world leaders.

The suggestion stunned those present at the meeting, including U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster, both of whom have since left the administration. This account of the previously undisclosed conversation comes from a senior administration official familiar with what was said.

In an exchange that lasted around five minutes, McMaster and others took turns explaining to Trump how military action could backfire and risk losing hard-won support among Latin American governments to punish President Nicolas Maduro for taking Venezuela down the path of dictatorship, according to the official. [...]

Then in September, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Trump discussed it again, this time at greater length, in a private dinner with leaders from four Latin American allies that included Santos, the same three people said and Politico reported in February.

The U.S. official said Trump was specifically briefed not to raise the issue and told it wouldn’t play well, but the first thing the president said at the dinner was, “My staff told me not to say this.” Trump then went around asking each leader if they were sure they didn’t want a military solution, according to the official, who added that each leader told Trump in clear terms they were sure.