Trump dealt with a national security crisis in front of diners and servers at a restaurant
North Korea carried out a ballistic missile test Saturday night, launching the weapon in Japan's general direction while President Donald Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The launch is being described as a "show of force" by North Korea, an isolated country that's hostile toward the Western world, according to NBC News.
The missile test occurred as Trump and Abe dined in the members' dining area at Trump's Mar-a-Lago golf resort.
Rather than retreat to a secure and private location to discuss these sensitive national security issues, Trump, Abe and White House aides Steve Bannon and Mike Flynn tended to the crisis right there in that public dining area, where people not permitted to hear classified information could have overheard the conversations, according to CNN.
The incident not only raises serious questions about the Trump administration's security protocols, but has Trump critics saying this behavior is far worse than Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state.
In the middle of the public dining space, Trump took a phone call about the security incident, and looked over papers that aides illuminated with the flashlights on their cellphones, according to CNN.
That behavior is stunning coming from a candidate and his top aides, who beat their chests and said Clinton placed the country's secrets at risk of being seen by those without permission with her use of a private email server.
Trump's blasé attitude toward dealing with a national security crisis is also in stark contrast to how former President Barack Obama handled similar incidents.
As the security incident unfolded, Trump even took the time to make an appearance at a wedding party taking place in Mar-a-Lago's ballroom, posing for photos with the bride and the wedding party, and taking the microphone to make a speech at the reception, CNN reported.
"They've been members of this club for a long time," Trump said of the couple at the wedding, according to CNN. "They've paid me a fortune."
What's more, Trump rebuked Obama in 2013 for not making a big public show of strength in response to past North Korean nuclear tests — and Trump meant an actual show, calling for a TV appearance.
"Where is the president? It is time for him to come on TV and show strength against the repeated threats from North Korea — and others," Trump tweeted of Obama, after North Korea raised the specter of nuclear war.
