Former Secretary of State John Kerry accused President Trump of insulting the memories of thousands of war veterans on Saturday because of the president’s decision to cancel a visit to a French World War I memorial because of bad weather.
In a tweet, Kerry wrote that Trump “didn’t bother to honor” the veterans despite the conditions they faced often being much worse than the rain and wind faced by the president’s team, currently in France for Armistice Day celebrations.
{mosads}”President @realDonaldTrump a no-show because of raindrops? Those veterans the president didn’t bother to honor fought in the rain, in the mud, in the snow – & many died in trenches for the cause of freedom,” Kerry tweeted.
“Rain didn’t stop them & it shouldn’t have stopped an American president,” he added.
Trump skipped the visit to the cemetery Saturday, which was attended instead by White House chief of staff John Kelly and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, a decision that was criticized by representatives of past White House teams on Twitter.
“It’s not even 60 miles from central Paris to the monument. If the weather is too wet & windy for helicopters, a presidential motorcade could drive the distance in an hour,” tweeted The Atlantic’s David Frum, a onetime speechwriter for former President George W. Bush.
“I helped plan all of President Obama’s trips for 8 years. There is always a rain option. Always,” added Ben Rhodes, a foreign policy adviser to former President Obama.