TRUMP: I'm 'very, very proud' of the military's 'successful job' dropping 'mother of all bombs' on ISIS
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
The Pentagon announced Thursday that the US dropped the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, also known as the "Mother of All Bombs" or "MOAB," on an ISIS target in a remote part of far northeast Afghanistan. It is the largest non-nuclear bomb in the US military's inventory.
Trump and the White House dodged questions from reporters on Thursday about whether Trump himself authorized the decision to drop the bomb.
"Everybody knows exactly what happens, so, and what I do is I authorize my military," Trump said. "We have the greatest military in the world, and they've done a job as usual, so we have given them total authorization. And that's what they're doing. And frankly, that's why they've been so successful lately."
Trump also compared his military successes to those of his predecessor, former President Barack Obama.
"If you look at what's happened over the last eight weeks and compare that, really, to what's happened over the last eight years, you'll see there's a tremendous difference. Tremendous difference," he said. "So we have incredible leaders in the military and we have incredible military and we are very proud of them. And this was another very, very successful mission."
Trump also deflected a question on whether the use of this bomb sends a message to North Korea, a country Trump has been trying to reign in since he became president. He discussed the issue of North Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his recent visit to Trump's resort in Florida.
"I don't know if this sends a message, it doesn't make any difference if it does or not," Trump said. "North Korea is a problem, the problem will be taken care of. I will say this: I think China has really been working very hard. I have really gotten to like and respect, as you know, President Xi, he's a terrific person, we spent a lot of time together in Florida, and he's a very special man. I think he's going to try very hard."
- I spent 2 weeks in India. A highlight was visiting a small mountain town so beautiful it didn't seem real.
- I quit McKinsey after 1.5 years. I was making over $200k but my mental health was shattered.
- Some Tesla factory workers realized they were laid off when security scanned their badges and sent them back on shuttles, sources say
- Why are so many elite coaches moving to Western countries?
- Global GDP to face a 19% decline by 2050 due to climate change, study projects
- 5 things to keep in mind before taking a personal loan
- Markets face heavy fluctuations; settle lower taking downtrend to 4th day
- Move over Bollywood, audio shows are starting to enter the coveted ‘100 Crores Club’