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MaddowBlog-Trump adds to his unsettling list of 'I don't know' answers on yet another key issue
In too many instances in recent months, the president has sounded a bit too much like a bystander who just wandered into the Oval Office.
In too many instances, Trump has sounded like a bystander who just wandered into the Oval Office, offering the public a lot of shrugged shoulders and blank stares.
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-09-08T17:34:14.768Z
Take his “I don’t know†response to the failed 2019 operation he approved in North Korea, for example. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-adds-unsettling-list-dont-know-answers-yet-another-key-issue-rcna229802
Late last week, The New York Times published an extraordinary report on a top secret mission in which a group of Navy SEALs tried to infiltrate North Korea in 2019, in the hopes of planting an electronic surveillance device. The risks were enormous, which is why the mission required the president’s direct approval, which Donald Trump, three years into his first term, granted......
Shortly after the news reached the public, a reporter asked Trump about the revelations. A separate Times report added:
As part of that exchange, the president hedged when asked whether he could confirm the mission actually happened.
......As for why this matters, there are a handful of angles to keep in mind. Right off the bat, in a great many instances in recent months Trump has sounded a bit too much like a man who just wandered into the Oval Office.
What’s more, most objective observers would probably agree that if Joe Biden had repeatedly said, “I don’t know” in response to simple questions about his own administration, it would be front-page news — and the Democrat’s responses would be played on a loop for hours on end in conservative media.
Similarly, Trump has personally invested considerable time and energy in accusing Biden of having been a doddering old “autopen” president who was unaware of events unfolding around him. Given the frequency with which the Republican clings to “I don’t know” responses, he should probably consider a new line of attack.
Finally, let’s not forget that Trump’s authoritarian tendencies are rooted, at least in part, in the idea that governmental power must be concentrated in the president’s hands, to be executed as he sees fit.
It makes Trump’s apparent cluelessness that much more alarming.
Shortly after the news reached the public, a reporter asked Trump about the revelations. A separate Times report added:
Trump said he didn’t ‘know anything about’ a failed top-secret mission in 2019 to intercept communication in North Korea, which was revealed in a New York Times investigation on Friday. ‘I could look but I know nothing about it,’ Trump said. ‘I don’t know anything about it. I’m hearing about it for the first time.’
As part of that exchange, the president hedged when asked whether he could confirm the mission actually happened.
Q: Can you say if the administration has engaged with North Korea on that incident?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-09-05T20:37:50.014Z
TRUMP: I don't know anything about it
Q: Can you confirm that it happened?
TRUMP: I'm hearing it now for the first time
(Trump reportedly approved the botched operation)
......As for why this matters, there are a handful of angles to keep in mind. Right off the bat, in a great many instances in recent months Trump has sounded a bit too much like a man who just wandered into the Oval Office.
What’s more, most objective observers would probably agree that if Joe Biden had repeatedly said, “I don’t know” in response to simple questions about his own administration, it would be front-page news — and the Democrat’s responses would be played on a loop for hours on end in conservative media.
Similarly, Trump has personally invested considerable time and energy in accusing Biden of having been a doddering old “autopen” president who was unaware of events unfolding around him. Given the frequency with which the Republican clings to “I don’t know” responses, he should probably consider a new line of attack.
Finally, let’s not forget that Trump’s authoritarian tendencies are rooted, at least in part, in the idea that governmental power must be concentrated in the president’s hands, to be executed as he sees fit.
It makes Trump’s apparent cluelessness that much more alarming.