Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) on Thursday said he “cringe[s] a little” whenever President Trump tweets, but that he doesn’t blame the president for trying to bypass a media that “hates him.”
“I have to admit — confession’s good for the soul — every time I hear that a tweet is coming out, I cringe a little,” Inhofe said during a speech at the National Defense University focused on his priorities for the committee. “Bu, wouldn’t it be kind of nice if he had someone to bounce those off, changing the wording maybe a little bit? But how else can he circumvent a media that hates him?”
{mosads}While Inhofe was ultimately defending the president, the admission of discomfort at Trump’s tweets was still noteworthy coming from someone who has been a staunch supporter of the president.
Trump has issued several defense-related tweets that have rattled U.S. allies and reportedly taken the Pentagon by surprise on issues ranging from NATO to North Korea.
On Thursday, Inhofe told the audience of uniformed military officers, officers from allied countries and other officials that “probably some of you in this room are among those who hate Trump.”
“That’s alright, but you need to recognize what this guy has done,” he added, before ticking off a list of accomplishments he said they should consider, including increases to the defense budget.
“We are just reversing what happened to the military,” Inhofe said. “That $220 billion cut that was there, we’re changing that. That’s what we’re changing right now.”