Getty President Donald Trump leaving the White House for Las Vegas.
President Donald Trump tweeted a cryptic, late-night comment on November 14 that had people buzzing on Twitter. Shortly after 1 a.m. on the east coast, Trump, who is still overseas, wrote, “I will be making a major statement from the @WhiteHouse upon my return to D.C. Time and date to be set.” (It was afternoon in Manila.)
Trump provided no further clues as to the nature of the major statement in his mysterious tweet. Two hours before, Trump wrote that he had just arrived in the Philippines. “Just arrived at #ASEAN50 in the Philippines for my final stop with World Leaders. Will lead to FAIR TRADE DEALS, unlike the horror shows from past Administrations. Will then be leaving for D.C. Made many good friends!” the president wrote.
I will be making a major statement from the @WhiteHouse upon my return to D.C. Time and date to be set.
After his visit to Manila, the president was scheduled to stop in Hawaii for refueling before making it back to Washington D.C., according to the White House pool report. “…the president is scheduled to depart for Joint Base Andrews, with a quick stop for refueling in Hawaii along the way,” the report noted.
However, all indications are that the “major statement” will be about North Korea and trade. Trump said as much on Twitter previously.
After my tour of Asia, all Countries dealing with us on TRADE know that the rules have changed. The United States has to be treated fairly and in a reciprocal fashion. The massive TRADE deficits must go down quickly!
The Voice of America reported that the statement may be on North Korea and trade, elaborating, “Trump says he will make ‘a major statement’ on North Korea and trade when he returns to Washington following his 12-day, five-nation trip to Asia.” Trump was not that specific on Twitter. U.S. News and World Report also wrote that the Trump statement is expected to deal with trade, reporting, “Trump says during a meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister of Australia that’it will be a very complete statement as to trade, as to North Korea, as to a lot of other things.”
(From L-R) Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, US President Donald Trump, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pose for a family photo during the ASEAN-US 40th Anniversary commemorative Summit on the sideline of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Manila on November 13, 2017.
The news magazine reported that Trump’s statement is expected on Wednesday. Despite the news stories mentioning North Korea and trade, though, Trump’s cryptic tweet had some people theorizing otherwise. Here are some of the theories people were throwing out on Twitter for Trump’s “major statement,” some serious and others jokes:
“My guess is the major statement is about a special counsel on Clinton. Or her emails. Got to distract, right trump?? ? #LockThemUp #Resign #Impeach45”
“I will be making a major statement today. “Major Statement”. There, I did it! #trump #potus #dramaqueen #whitehouse”
“Trump’s planned ‘major statement’ will no doubt be made to in order to distract from his son’s wikileaks scandal.”
“Old man Trump has no gauge. (sic) ‘Major statement’ could mean the start of WWIII or half off chicken fingers at Trump Grill.”
Others accused Trump of staging a reality television worthy cliffhanger with the seemingly mysterious tweet. (The president’s mysterious tweets have gotten Twitter going before; remember “Covfefe”? That one was never really explained very well. It did keep a lot of people up late that night.)
However, the looming Trump statement was really old news. The AP reported before Trump tweeted, “President Donald Trump says he’ll be delivering a ‘major statement’ Wednesday when he’s back in Washington to discuss what he’s accomplished on his big Asia trip.”