“I thought it was terrible what he did, to write a letter. I mean, this isn’t a class on literature. This is a captain of a massive ship that’s nuclear powered, and he shouldn’t be talking that way in a letter. He could call and ask and suggest,” Trump told reporters Saturday during a White House briefing on coronavirus.
Trump added, “I thought it looked terrible, to be honest with you.”
Although Trump appeared to suggest that the now-ousted commander of the ship was responsible for that port call in Vietnam, the Navy’s top admiral, Adm. Mike Gilday, told reporters last month that the decision to proceed with that port visit was made by a much more senior officer, the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command.
The President further said that although the decision to dismiss Crozier was not his own, he agrees with that decision “100%.”
CNN previously reported that as of Saturday, 155 sailors from the Roosevelt have tested positive for the virus, according to the Navy.
Modly on Thursday said Crozier was “absolutely correct” in raising his concerns, but “it was the way in which he did it … that was unacceptable to me.” He also insisted that Crozier’s removal “is not one about retribution.”