In all the (legitimate) bruhaha over the mishandling of military operations in Yemen by the top Trump Administration officials, few commentators asked, "WHERE WAS THE PRESIDENT?" Did he approve the attack or leave that to his underlings to decide.
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In March 2025, the United States bombed Yemen. Prior to the bombing, high administration officials planned the raid over an unsecure messaging app (Signal) which inadvertently included journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in Chief of The Atlantic. Goldberg published an article about the discussions in his news magazine, taking care to not expose military and intelligence personnel involved.
Other media picked up the story, which made front page news as it exposed a serious breach of national security. Those present included Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Vice President J.D. Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant.
What did not make the front pages of U.S. newspapers is who was not present. Where, in fact, was Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, when a U.S. military attack was being planned and carried out? Did he approve it? Did he know about it? Was it enough for Stephen Miller to say, "I heard it . . . green light?"
Heather Cox Richardson was practically alone in expressing concern about POTUS' absence: "The messages reveal that President Trump was not part of the discussion of whether to make the airstrikes, a deeply troubling revelation that raises the question of who is in charge at the White House."
As Cox Richardson wrote, "The decision to make the strikes then appears to have been made by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who ended the discussion simply by invoking the president: "As I heard it, the president was clear: green light."
Vice President Vance also referenced the president's decision-making authority: "I think we should go, but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space."
When interviewed by the press, Trump didn't seem to know much about the action. Cox Richardson quotes him: "I think it's a witch hunt. I wasn't involved with it, I wasn't there, but I can tell you the result is unbelievable."
'When asked if he still believed there was no classified information shared on the public messaging app, he answered: "Well, that's what I've heard. I don't know, I'm not sure. You'll have to ask the various people involved. I really don't know."'
Does that sound like a man in charge? A man who knows the details of a military attack? The man ultimately responsible? Who's running this country anyway? Or should I say, "ruining it?"