Trump’s ‘calm before the storm’ comment has everyone in the dark

WASHINGTON: Could US President Donald Trump just have been “messing” with the press when he shot off the mysterious “calm before the storm” comment? Was he subtly giving a nod to a general perception of the “madman theory” — that he says crazy things to keep people guessing?

Trump’s remark came at a dinner with military leaders on Thursday. While posing for a picture with them and their spouses, Trump had pointed to the room and asked reporters if they knew “what it represents”.

“Maybe it’s the calm before the storm,” he said.

He ignored follow up questions and refused to divulge whether he meant North Korea, Iran, Syria or the Islamic State — four entities he had attacked on Twitter since becoming president. “You’ll find out,” he said.

Trump followed that line of thought on Friday, when reporters asked him about his cryptic remark at a White House event. “You’ll find out,” he said.

Questions about his remark dominated the daily White House briefing on Friday, with reporters returning to in different ways.

Asked if Trump was referring to military action, press secretary Sarah Sanders said: “We’re never going to say in advance what the president is going to do. And as he said... you’ll have to wait and see.”

Asked if US citizens and adversaries should take those remarks seriously, Sanders said, “I think you can take the president protecting the American people always extremely serious.”

With the spokesperson unable to furnish a satisfactory response, reporters fell back on the “madman theory” — could he have subscribed to that? Sanders agreed: “He certainly doesn’t want to lay out his game plan for our enemies. So if you’re asking, is the president trying to do that — absolutely.”