Commerce Secretary: Syria Bombing Was Dinner “Entertainment” At Mar-O-Lago
Ross spoke at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference in California and added “The thing was, it didn’t cost the President anything to have that entertainment,.” In actuality, it cost a bit more than a mariachi group. Just replacing the $59 million Tomahawks missiles will exceed $60 million and that is not counting the other costs associated with the attacks. Putting aside the whole business of attacking another country without congressional authorization, attacking another country is no form of entertainment unless your dinner mates are Loki and Hades.
Clearly, Ross was making what he viewed as a humorous or perhaps a macho aside. However, war is no trivial matter, particularly when a president acts without congressional authority. With critics raising the danger of a president ordering attacks on an arbitrary or casual basis, Ross decided to dismiss an act on a foreign government as just so much entertainment for a party at a ritzy resort. At a minimum, it shows a continued lack of control over messaging in this Administration and at worse a casual attitude toward some of the most serious and weighty decisions of our government.