# Trump did not know what happened at Pearl Harbor **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 17, 2020, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545 "2020-01-17T03:05:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/21 "2020-01-17T20:06:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I have my doubts just based on the story: > Huh? > > That is not “isn’t necessarily an inaccurate description.” That is an absolutely perfect description. Pearl Harbor was a battle, and was of historic significance. What the hell is O’Donnell talking about? The quote in question was > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Tim O’Donnell > He reportedly appeared to think he was visiting the site of a historic battle, which isn’t necessarily an inaccurate description — the attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise Japanese military strike against a U.S. naval base that prompted Washington’s entry into World War II. I read this as that everything after the dash was the Post’s addendum to explain what actually happened and not Trump’s explanation which would been incompatible with Trump’s asking what the visit was all about. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/22 "2020-01-17T20:10:39Z")
He read about Pearl Harbor in 2 Corinthians but forgot it. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/23 "2020-01-17T20:11:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Absent context, we don’t know. Since you’re drawing that quote from a story that implies Pearl Harbor wasn’t exactly a historic battle, consider the source. > > Donald Trump is an ignoramus, but this is a dreadful bit of reporting. The Yahoo article seems to mangle the story. Here’s the piece from WaPo (bolding mine): > [@](#): > > “Hey, John, what’s this all about? What’s this a tour of?” Trump asks his then-Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, as the men prepare to take a private tour of the USS Arizona Memorial, which commemorates the December 1941 Japanese surprise attack in the Pacific that pulled the United States into World War II. > > “Trump had heard the phrase ‘Pearl Harbor’ and **appeared to understand that he was visiting the scene of a historic battle, but he did not seem to know much else** ,” write the authors, later quoting a former senior White House adviser who concludes: “He was at times dangerously uninformed.” ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/24 "2020-01-17T20:30:28Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > why did he ask “What’s this about?” If he knew the whole story? I assume he was asking about the specific location - that is, what was “the USS Arizona Memorial” about. Not that many people are left who remember just what happened to the Arizona (or the California, or Oklahoma, or West Virginia). It’s not as if he got the date wrong, like George H.W. Bush did. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/25 "2020-01-17T20:46:58Z")
[NPR speculates that the “former senior adviser” is John Kelly.](https://www.npr.org/2020/01/15/796128983/latest-retelling-of-trumps-term-smacks-of-a-prosecutor-s-courtroom-summation) ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/26 "2020-01-17T21:01:23Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I find the wording of this very questionable. I don’t doubt that Trump might _ **want** _ American companies to be able to bribe or illicit foreign officials, but I highly doubt he’d actually \*\*\*say \*\*\*things that bluntly. This whole sentence smacks of poorly-written projection by the book author. > > That would be like a tell-all book about Bill Clinton, “quoting” Clinton, _ **“It’s so unfair that I can’t have an extramarital blowjob with my 25-year old intern in the Oval Office and then commit perjury as well!”** _ Yeah, I can’t see him actually saying the word bribe. And I can’t see Tillerson, the same Rex Tillerson that as the head of Exxon threw millions of dollars at corrupt despots ruling oil rich lands with no regard to any consideration other than their respect for contract sanctity, clashing on the position. But I can see Trump wanting to repeal the law. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/27 "2020-01-17T21:33:51Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > He thinks it involved Washington or Lincoln > > [Trump reportedly doesn't know what happened at Pearl Harbor](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-reportedly-doesnt-know-happened-182600170.html) I have no problem with the notion that Trump’s knowledge of things, many things, is lacking. But I see nothing at Yahoo nor the Post that shows that Trump did not know what happened at Pearl Harbor, and nothing about it involving Washington or Lincoln. Did I miss that part? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/28 "2020-01-17T21:35:14Z")
> [@Fugazi](#): > > Pearl Harbor? Isn’t that where the Germans bombed us. But we decided it wasn’t over. > (Pretty bad when Bluto is smarter than our Commander-in-Chief. At least Bluto knew it was one of the enemies from WWII that bombed us.) Hey, Bluto became a Senator, so he’s at least as smart as some of them. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/29 "2020-01-17T21:45:47Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > I have no problem with the notion that Trump’s knowledge of things, many things, is lacking. But I see nothing at Yahoo nor the Post that shows that Trump did not know what happened at Pearl Harbor, and nothing about it involving Washington or Lincoln. Did I miss that part? The Abe and George part is what is called humor. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/30 "2020-01-17T23:50:10Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > The Abe and George part is what is called humor. I had a long, mind-numbing day at work before posting that, but not so bad that as I was walking out it didn’t hit he me that “oh, Bijou Drains was just joking!” :smack: 🙂 But what about the Pearl Harbor part? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/31 "2020-01-18T00:30:25Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > So he thought that they had “rammed the manparts”? It’s a habit of his - whenever he mispronounces something, he starts repeating himself until he gets it “right”, no matter how little sense it makes to those of us who are not Very Stable Geniuses. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/32 "2020-01-18T02:49:45Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > It’s not as if he got the date wrong, like George H.W. > Bush did. I vaguely remember that. Wasn’t he the Vice President then? But in any case, given the elder Bush’s distinguished service record during the Second World War, I think we can cut him a bit of slack for that mistake. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/33 "2020-01-18T05:49:36Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Did you read my #5? It has quotes from the WP article based on _A Very Stable Genius_, a new book by Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig. Not as good as quoting from the book, but better than discussing the “meat” as first filtered by Yahoo, then by OP. > > The quote your responding to was a 4th-hand impression of what seems like an interesting book. Let’s discuss the interesting book, please, not the result of a game of “Gossip.” No response to this. Dopers focus on a stupid “joke”(!?) in OP rather than focus on the (mis-)linked substance. I once heard about a great message board where smart people fight ignorance. The SDMB is not that message board. ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/34 "2020-01-18T06:06:43Z")
> [@Fugazi](#): > > Pearl Harbor? Isn’t that where the Germans bombed us. But we decided it wasn’t over. > (Pretty bad when Bluto is smarter than our Commander-in-Chief. At least Bluto knew it was one of the enemies from WWII that bombed us.) That’s Senator Blutarsky to you sir. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/35 "2020-01-18T06:28:43Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > That’s not the worst thing in the book, by far. The “Trump is an Ignorant Idiot” anecdotes are amusing but I prefer to save my derision for the really scary stuff. > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-book-portrays-trump-as-erratic-at-times-dangerously-uninformed/2020/01/15/4d45bf44-370f-11ea-a01d-b7cc8ec1a85d\_story.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-book-portrays-trump-as-erratic-at-times-dangerously-uninformed/2020/01/15/4d45bf44-370f-11ea-a01d-b7cc8ec1a85d_story.html) > > QUOTE FROM THE ARTICLE > > “In Spring 2017, Trump also clashed with Tillerson when he told him he wanted his help getting rid of the Corrupt Foreign Practices Act, a 1977 law that prevents US firms and individuals from bribing foreign officials for business deals. > > “It’s just so unfair that US companies aren’t allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas” Trump says, according to the book. “We’re going to change that”. > > So much for his corruption fighting narrative > > I’ve got to admit that I find three words in the above story hard to believe, and that is the phrase “clashed with Tillerson”. I’m surprised he wasn’t on board. I mean, I think the FCPA is a good law to have, but every year I get training on it and it’s never really clear what’s an acceptable bit of baksheesh that’s culturally expected and what’s a bribe. It doesn’t actually matter for my job, but at least the company can say I’ve read the training and signed the documentation. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/36 "2020-01-18T12:25:07Z")
Bush Sr. mentioned Pearl Harbor was on Sept 7th ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/37 "2020-01-18T14:17:02Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Bush Sr. mentioned Pearl Harbor was on Sept 7th George H.W. either misspoke or had a memory slip-up when he said that. It’s the equivalent of a verbal typo. It’s not the same thing as not knowing the significance of the Arizona Memorial, or what happened at Pearl Harbor. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/38 "2020-01-18T16:13:36Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Bush Sr. mentioned Pearl Harbor was on Sept 7th He misspoke. Just like when Obama was a candidate and claimed he’s been to all 57 states. People do misspeak. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/39 "2020-01-18T16:40:51Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > But what about the Pearl Harbor part? Did you read the first paragraph of the linked Yahoo article? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545/40 "2020-01-18T16:56:46Z")
I certainly don’t think Bush Sr. was dumb , agree it was just a slip up. BTW he came very close to being captured by the Japanese in WW 2. And if he was captured he probably would have ended up on an island where many POWs were killed. And some of them were eaten. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-did-not-know-what-happened-at-pearl-harbor/846545.md?page=3)