Trump in leaked conversation bragged about retweets for defending Confederate history

President Trump boasted about the amount of retweets he received in a post saying that Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, assured him that military bases named after Confederates will not be changed. 

“I had about 95,000 positive retweets on that. That’s a lot,” Trump told Inhofe on a phone call the senator put on speaker while dining at a Washington, D.C., restaurant Wednesday night, according to audio leaked to The New York Times.

Inhofe, 85, reportedly put the call on speaker so he could hear better, making the conversation audible to those seated at Trattoria Alberto, a small Capitol Hill eatery frequented by Republican lawmakers. 

“We’re going to keep the name of Robert E. Lee?” Trump said.

Inhofe responded to Trump’s question by saying: “Just trust me, I’ll make it happen.” 

The two reportedly spoke about somebody “resigning” and being placed into another position. They also discussed personal matters regarding somebody’s “divorces” that could be the subject of media attention. 

The call occurred the day before Anthony Tata, the retired Army brigadier general whose nomination for a top Pentagon policy position has become controversial, was supposed to testify before the committee.

His hearing was canceled less than an hour before it was set to begin on Thursday because “many” Democrats and Republicans “didn’t know enough about Anthony Tata to consider him for a very significant position at this time.”

Inhofe’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.