Yeeeaaahhhh, the “Fox & Friends” retweet this morning that Tapper describes here was unfortunate, although not surprising. Trump’s ethics are and have always been situational: What’s good for Trump is good and what’s bad for Trump is bad. In that sense, it’s consistent for him to promote a story about North Korean escalation that’s based on a leak while calling for Jeff Sessions to throw the book at natsec leakers. Although it leaves you to wonder: If he wanted the news about the NorKs moving missiles to patrol boats to be known publicly, why didn’t he just declassify it and put it out there himself? He doesn’t need to rely on leaks to advance his agenda. He’s the president! The world of national security information is his oyster, to be shared as he likes.
Eh. In fairness, Trump isn’t much different than everyone else in his hypocrisy about leaks. Leaks are like the filibuster: Everyone sees the downside when it’s their party that’s being thwarted, but once the tables turn and the other guys take power, suddenly they’re an essential tool for keeping the ruling majority honest.
.@jaketapper: The President who rails against anonymous sources and leaks shared a story reliant upon both anonymous sources and leaks pic.twitter.com/nBl6SjZt20
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) August 8, 2017
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