The Acting Chief of Defense states that he would not have hidden the McCain ship

SINGAPORE – Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan stepped away on Friday with the Trump Government's decision to hide a ship named after Senator John McCain during the president's visit to a base in Japan this week.

Mr Shanahan, who was in Singapore for a security conference, told reporters that he would not have moved the destroyer to protect him from photos with Mr Trump.

The White House military operations office asked the navy to block the ship, which allowed it to obey first on behalf of Mr. McCain, a fierce critic of Mr. Trump, died last year and then move a barge. near the ship.

"I would not have moved the ship," said Shanahan, who faces a tough battle for Senate confirmation. "I would not have given this direction."

Mr. Shanahan has firmly denied being aware of the White House's request or any action taken by the Navy to comply with it. He said that he had asked his chief of staff to shed light on the issue and that he hoped to get answers quickly.

"Our job is to conduct military operations and not become politicized," he said.

Mr Trump, for his part, said on Thursday that he was unaware of efforts to hide the ship and that he would not have ordered that it be masked, but he expressed sympathy for his staff.

"Now, someone did it because they thought I did not like it, OK?" Trump told the press referring to Mr. McCain. . "They were well-intentioned, I will say. I did not know anything about it. I would never have done that.

Mr. Trump regularly evades the conventions of his office, as if to avoid actions that inject politics into military affairs. It would be much more difficult politically for Mr. Shanahan to avoid questions about an episode such as the steps taken to hide the ship.

Shanahan's confirmation hearing in the Senate is scheduled for June, although no date has been set, and he should face tough questions from former McCain colleagues. Even before the conflict on the ship, Mr. Shanahan was under review for his lack of military experience and his deep ties with Boeing.

On issues such as Mr. Trump's proposals for a border wall and the Space Force, Mr. Shanahan focused on supporting the White House's demands, many of which were delayed by his predecessor, Jim Mattis.

Senators on both sides of the aisle saw Mr. Mattis as a strong control over Mr. Trump, and Mr. Shanahan's efforts not to upset his boss could cause problems for the legislators who will decide whether to confirm it. no.

In Washington, critics have claimed that Mr. Trump's aversion to Mr. McCain provoked a cascade of decisions from junior officials that dishonored not only the memory of the senator, but also the sailors who serve on the ship carrying his name.

In addition to Mr. McCain, the vessel is named after his grandfather, John S. McCain Sr., a naval admiral during World War II, and his father, John S. McCain Jr., an admiral of the Navy. time of the Vietnam War.

The sailors aboard the McCain were not invited to hear Mr. Trump speak when he boarded the nearby assault ship, the Wasp, but the sailors of the other vessels United States war veterans at the Yokosuka naval base in Japan were welcomed aboard.

A Yokosuka-based Naval Force member said that McCain sailors who came in uniform to hear Mr. Trump were turned away.

After the ship's name was covered with the tarpaulin, senior officers ordered it, but a barge was then placed in front of the destroyer before Mr. Trump arrived.

More than 36 hours after the release of the first maneuvering reports, senior Pentagon officials said they were still looking for answers on why the Navy had complied with the House's request. white.

The navy also stated that he planned to reprimand the members of the service who wore red patches on which was written "Make Aircrew Great Again" – a play on the slogan of Mr. Trump's campaign – on their flight suit during the President's speech.

Friday afternoon, the area near Yokosuka Base was calm, with a handful of US sailors on leave shopping. Giant photos of Mr. Trump scorned passers-by of a department store and a nearby burgers shop was serving a Trump burger – more than a pound and a half of peanut butter beef , topped with Sloe sauce and jalapeños.

The sailors close to the base said they knew about the conflict but had not thought too much about it, partly because they did not really know what had happened, but mainly because he was above their level of remuneration.

Some said they had become accustomed to Trump's unorthodox habits and were not surprised that the White House had sought to hide the ship. Rumors, often contradictory, abounded, and some claimed that the whole affair was "false news", echoing one of the president's favorite lines.

Only a handful of sailors expressed their concern. They described as shameful the decision to conceal the ship and said the biggest problem was the politicization of the army, even though there was disagreement about the choice of the official.