On Wednesday, Wall Street Journal contributors Rebecca Ballhaus and Gordon Lubold posted a story stating that the USS John McCain was purposefully covered up while docked in Japan so President Trump would not be upset by its sight. Despite information refuting the claim, this story was widely circulated by the mainstream media outlets, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and was even tweeted out by the late senator’s daughter.
Trump is a child who will always be deeply threatened by the greatness of my dads incredible life. There is a lot of criticism of how much I speak about my dad, but nine months since he passed, Trump won't let him RIP. So I have to stand up for him.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) May 30, 2019
It makes my grief unbearable. https://t.co/gUbFAla1VE
Trump admin asked for USS John McCain to be "out of sight" during visit to Japan: report https://t.co/jlkYiyp9tZ pic.twitter.com/keQuY5fXYg
— The Hill (@thehill) May 30, 2019
Petty, childish, & unbefitting of our Commander-in-Chief. Trump’s inability to rise above selfish political rivalry to honor our war heroes & respect their countless sacrifices is inexcusably disrespectful to our brave men & women in uniform. https://t.co/9kuU49tH2b
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) May 30, 2019
The White House ordered USS John McCain to be "out of sight" during Trump's Japan trip, a report says https://t.co/xK1BkFMuZT
— TIME (@TIME) May 30, 2019
According to the article,
Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan was aware of the concern about the presence of the USS John McCain in Japan and approved measures to ensure it didn’t interfere with the president’s visit, a U.S. official said.
This was disputed by the Secretary Shanahan who said, “What I read this morning was the first I heard about it,” when asked about the ship. This claim was again disputed by the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Information in a tweet yesterday.
The name of USS John S. McCain was not obscured during the POTUS visit to Yokosuka on Memorial Day. The Navy is proud of that ship, its crew, its namesake and its heritage.
— Navy Chief of Information (@chinfo) May 30, 2019
A picture of a tarp covering a part of the USS John S. McCain was also widely circulated.
Midway through the article WSJ states,
The picture of the tarp was taken on Friday and the tarp was taken down on Saturday, a Navy official said. The paint barge was also removed ahead of the presidential visit, said Cmdr. Clayton Doss, a spokesman for the Navy’s Seventh Fleet.
(Cover: Flickr / The Epoch Times)