While Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte did say North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “might just go crazy one moment” during his recent phone call with Donald Trump, the latter revealed something far more serious. Especially since, considering his recent history with telling foreign dignitaries classified, or non-public information, the White House probably wishes he’d just stop doing altogether. For during their discussion of North Korea, the president told Duterte about two U.S. nuclear submarines located just off the coast of the troublesome nation. Which is, as one reporter noted, is “not usually something we talk about.”
According to the New York Times, after the previously reported portion of the pair’s conversation, Trump “boasted” about the concealed submarines while continuing to talk about North Korea:
“We have a lot of firepower over there,” Mr. Trump noted. “We have two submarines — the best in the world. We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all.”
The call transcript, which “a senior administration official confirmed that the transcript was an accurate representation” of Trump and Duterte’s conversation, was apparently leaked by the Filipino government as the administration “routinely” keeps its own transcripts secret. Even so, the Times notes the rendering “offers a rare insight into” how Trump operates during closed-door sessions with his fellow world leaders.
Here’s the offending portion of the call readout, per NBC News’ Bradd Jaffy:
Underplayed from Trump-Duterte call: he told Duterte we have 2 nuclear submarines near N. Korea. That's…not usually something we talk about. pic.twitter.com/Qiqgcj6NOk
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 24, 2017
(Via New York Times)