Report: John Kelly and US Secret Service Went Nose to Nose With Chinese Security

Like so many of the bullsh** unsourced and anonymously sourced stories that have leaked about the Trump administration, this one doesn’t sound all that solid but if it isn’t true it should be.

Back in November, President Trump visited China.

After reviewing the ChiCom honor guard, he went into the Great Hall of the People for more ceremonial stuff. One person in Trump’s entourage is the officer who carries the “nuclear football.” This is the satchel that contains the necessary communications gear to allow the president to respond to a nuclear attack, as well as the authentication codes, and targeting options. That officer is not allowed to be very far from the president.

This comes from Jonathan Swan at Axios.

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Cool story, bro. I’ll tell you why I have a lot of doubts:

A. High level meetings like this are choreographed in fine detail.
B. Nobody doesn’t get the memo on how to deal with a U.S. president’s security detail and personal staff. (Gratuitous but relevant Hunt for Red October line)

C. In the Chinese government, not getting the memo is not healthy.
D. There is not a breath of this story around the trip.
E. While the Chinese have every motive to not mention it, I can’t imagine that the story would have been secret for more than a few hours given the U.S. press corps present and the way the White House leaked and the tough guy image this portrayed.

If the story is true, this was a calculated power play by the Chinese dreamed up for their own reasons. That is not outside the realm of possibility. If you know anyone who served at the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom, which is located precisely on the Korean DMZ, they can tell you of the sudden assaults by North Koran guards on the American/ROK guard force with no apparent motive.

Like I said, I have my doubts but it is a story I’d like to believe.

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