Donald Trump seemingly alluded to a major presidential scandal instead of directly answering a question about his plans for future military activity outside of the United States.
The 79-year-old president spoke with members of the press aboard Air Force One on Friday (April 17). During the conversation, he was asked about possible plans to send the U.S. military into another foreign country, something that he’d alluded to earlier in the week.
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After threatening to “stop by” Cuba, Trump was asked for clarification about possible plans to strike the country. However, he replied by referencing a former president’s key blunder while in office.
The president in question was former President Bill Clinton, with Trump seemingly alluding to his sex scandal involving Monica Lewinsky.
“There have been reports that the Pentagon’s preparing for military action in Cuba. Are those reports true? Is Cuba next?” a member of the press asked the president.
He replied, “Well, it depends on what your definition of military action is,” before doubling down when asked if his plans would look more like Venezuela or Iran. “It depends on what your definition of military action is, as Bill Clinton would say.”
“You understand that? No. And a lot of people don’t understand that,” he said.
Trump appeared to be referencing a statement Clinton made in 1998 amid speculation that he’d been sexually involved with Lewinsky, a former White House intern: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky,” he said at the time.
Clinton‘s remark hinged on they gray area in what constitutes sexual relations between a man and a woman, essentially turning accusations against him into a battle about the semantics of the phrase “sexual relations.”
Despite his argument, he was still impeached by the House of Representatives, though he was later acquitted by the Senate.
It’s unclear if Trump‘s response confirmed future military action in Cuba.
While speaking to the press on April 13, the president described Cuba as a “failing nation,” and implied that he wanted to take action against the country after wrapping his ongoing war in Iran.
Just Jared reached out to the White House for clarification about the president’s comments but did not hear back at the time of publication.
Earlier in the week, Trump answered a question about his health in a shockingly candid manner.
